H    C 

493 

S9 

R9 

MAIN 


UC-NRLF 

ifllill! 

*B    «JO   fl23 


SYRIA: 
AN  ECONOMIC  SURVEY 


By  DR.  ARTHUR  RUPPIN 

(Translated  and  abridged  by  Nellie  Straus) 


Published  by 

The  Provisional  Zionist  Committee 

New  York 

1918 


VI  V 


PAKT  ONE. 

THE  LAND  AND  ITS  INHABITANTS. 
I.    The  Land. 

Area. — Syria,  in  the  larger  sense  of  the  term,  inclusive  of 
Palestine,  extends  from  Egypt  and  the  Arabian  Desert  in  the  south 
(31°  30'  north  lat.)  to  the  Amanus  in  the  north  (37°  north  lat.), 
which  divides  it  from  Asia.  It  is  bounded  by  the  Mediterranean 
Sea  on  the  west,  and  by  the  Syrian  Desert  and  the  Euphrates  on 
the  east;  its  length  varies  from  435  to  497  mi.,  its  breadth  from 
62  to  186  mi.  Its  area  in  round  numbers  is  124,200  sq.  mi. 

Surface  Configuration. — Geographically  Syria  may  be  divided 
into  four  longitudinal  zones  extending  from  north  to  south: 

1.  The  flat,  extremely  fertile,  coastal  plain,  with  a  maxi- 
mum breadth  of  18.6  mi.,  on  which  lie  the  harbors  Alexan- 
dretta,  Seleucia,  Latakia,  Tripoli,  Beirut,  Sidon,  Tyre,  Acre, 
Haifa,  Jaffa,  Gaza,  and  Khan  Yunus; 

2.  The  western  mountain  range,  extending  from  the  Giaur 
Dagh  in  the  north  over  the  Ausan  Range  and  the  Lebanon  to 
the  Galilean,  Samaritan,  and  Judaean  mountains,   (average 
height  of  plateau,  874  yards,  highest  point,  Jebel  Makmal  in 
the  Lebanon,  3,344  yards),  from  18  to  31  mi.  in  breadth,  on 
which  lie  the  cities  Beilan,  Safita,  Safed,  Nablus  (Shechem), 
Jerusalem  and  Hebron; 

3.  The  famous  depression,  formed  by  the  Orontes,  the 
Litani,  and  the  Jordan,  from  6.2  to  18.6  mi.  wide,  falling  437.2 
yards  below  sea  level  toward  the  south,  in  which  lie  numerous 
lakes   (Amuk,  Horns,  Huleh,  Tiberias,  Dead  Sea),  and  the 
cities    Antioch,    Hama,    Horns,    Baalbek,    Zahleh,    Tiberias, 
Beisan,  and  Jericho;  the  Orontes  Valley  forms  its  northern 
part,  its  central  part  through  which  the  Litani  flows  is  called 
Beka'a  (Coelesyria  in  ancient  times),  and  the  southern  section 
through  which  the  Jordan  flows  is  called  Ghor ; 

Palestine  Is  not  an  administrative  province.  The  historic  Palestine  ex- 
tended west  of  the  Jordan  from  El  Arlsh  in  the  south  to  Tyre  in  the  north. 
East  of  the  Jordan  it  extended  from  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Dead  Sea 
to  the  Yarmuk,  its  eastern  boundary  being  the  desert.  It  was  about  3,000 
sq.  km.  in  area,  and  comprised  the  present  Mutessarifliks  of  Jerusalem,  Nablus, 
Acre,  and  Kerak. 


-r 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

4.  The  eastern  mountain  range,  with  a  maximum  breadth 
of  31.05  mi.,  running  parallel  to  the  western  mountain  range; 
its  average  height  is  983.7  yards,  its  highest  point  (Mt. 
Hermon)  2,916.7  yards  in  height,  whence  it  extends  southward 
over  the  Jolan  and  Ajlun  mountain  ranges  into  the  Trans- 
Jordanian  plateau.  In  this  eastern  mountain  range  lie  the 
cities  Aleppo,  Damascus,  Es  Salt,  and  Kerak.  The  plateau 
of  El  Leja  and  the  Hauran  Mountains  may  be  considered  an 
annex  of  this  zone.  This  region,  as  well  as  the  tableland  of 
En  Nukra  is  famous  for  its  fertility,  thanks  to  the  formation 
of  the  soil,  which  is  covered  by  disintegrated  basalt  and  lava. 
In  the  east  the  mountain  range  gradually  merges  into  the 
Syrian  Desert. 

Temperature. — The  mean  annual  temperature  of  the  coastal 
plain  is  70°  F.  (57°  in  January,  84°  in  August),  of  the  western 
and  eastern  mountain  ranges  61°  (43°  in  January,  73°  in  August). 
The  Jordan  Valley  has  a  sub-tropical  climate,  the  mean  annual 
temperature  being  24°  C. 

There  is  never  any  frost  in  the  Jordan  Valley.  It  is  rare 
in  the  coastal  zone,  but  frequent  in  the  mountain  ranges  and  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  plain  which  lies  between  them.  Here  snow 
occasionally  falls,  but  it  melts  immediately  except  in  altitudes  of 
more  than  1,093  yards.  The  difference  in  climate  between  the 
coastal  zone  and  the  Lebanon  (a  distance  of  only  12  to  18  mi.)  is 
remarkable. 

Rain. — Rain  falls  only  from  October  to  April.  The  average 
yearly  rainfall  varies  from  400  to  900  mm.,  according  to  locality, 
being  smallest  in  the  south  and  largest  in  the  north.  (Gaza  has 
420  mm.,  Jaffa  510  mm.,  Haifa  610  mm.,  Beirut  880  mm.,  Alex- 
andretta  900  mm.)  The  mountain  ranges  have  a  greater  rainfall 
than  the  coast,  (Jerusalem  660  mm.,  Hebron  650  mm.,  Damascus 
700  mm.),  whereas  the  depression  has  much  less,  especially  the 
Jordan  Valley  (Tiberias  440  mm.,  Jericho  200  mm.).  The  rain- 
fall varies  greatly  from  year  to  year. 

The  rainy  season  may  be  divided  into  three  parts : 

1.  The  autumn  (former  rains),  usually  beginning  in  the 
middle  of  November  and  lasting  3-4  weeks  (3/9  of  total  rain- 
fall) ; 

2.  The  winter  rains,  during  January  and  February  (5/9 
of  rainfall) ; 

3.  The  late  winter  (latter  rains),  lasting  from  the  middle 
of  March  to  the  end  of  April  (1/9  of  rainfall). 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

Dew. — In  summer  a  heavy  dew  falls  in  the  coastal  plain  and 
in  the  mountains,  which  is  indispensable  for  the  summer  crops 
(durrha,  sesame). 

Winds. — The  winds  are  fairly  strong  throughout  the  year.  The 
prevailing  wind  is  from  the  southwest  and  brings  the  winter  rains. 
In  spring  and  fall  the  sirocco  (Chamsin)  blows  from  the  Arabian 
Desert.  In  summer  there  is  a  sea  breeze  in  the  daytime  and  a 
land  breeze  at  night. 

Lakes  and  Streams. — The  important  lakes  are  the  Lake  of 
Antioch,  fed  by  the  Kara  Su  and  the  Aphirin  Su,  the  Lake  of 
Horns,  formed  by  the  Orontes,  the  prairie  marshes  near  Damascus 
fed  by  the  Barada,  the  salt  lakes  near  Jebbul,  and  the  three 
lakes  of  the  Jordan  Valley,  Merom,  Tiberias,  and  the  Dead  Sea. 
Syria  has  no  navigable  streams.  Its  deepest  rivers  are  barely 
a  yard  in  depth  and  from  30  to  50  yards  wide,  with  a  swift  current. 
The  three  main  rivers  of  Syria  are  the  Orontes,  (about  186  mi. 
long),  with  its  source  in  the  Lebanon  near  Baalbek,  which  flows 
into  the  Mediterranean  near  the  Lake  of  Antioch;  the  Litani, 
which  also  has  its  source  in  the  Lebanon  and  flows  into  the 
Mediterranean  near  Tyre;  and  the  Jordan  (124  mi.),  which  com- 
ing from  Mt.  Hermon,  flows  through  the  Lakes  of  Huleh  and 
Tiberias  and  empties  into  the  Dead  Sea.  Besides  these  longitudinal 
streams  there  are  several  small  transverse  streams,  the  Nahr  el 
Kebir  (near  Latakia),  the  Kadisha  (near  Tripoli),  the  Nahr 
Ibrahim  and  the  Nahr  el  Kelb  (near  Beirut),  the  Brook  Kishon 
(near  Haifa),  and  the  Aujah  (near  Jaffa),  all  flowing  from  the 
western  mountain  range  into  the  Mediterranean.  The  Barada  and 
the  Nahr  el  Avadj  flow  toward  Damascus  from  the  eastern  mount- 
ain range,  while  the  Yarmuk  and  the  Zerka  flow  into  the  Jordan 
from  the  Ajlun.  The  Kuveik  flows  through  Aleppo  into  a  prairie 
marsh,  and  the  Kara  Su  and  the  Aphirin  Su  flow  into  the  Lake 
of  Antioch. 

Health  Conditions. — In  general  the  land  may  be  considered 
healthy.  The  only  diseases  which  are  constant  and  epidemic  in 
certain  sections  are  malaria  and  trachoma.  Malaria  is  prevalent 
in  (a)  the  coastal  zone,  where  swamps  are  formed  by  the  rain  water 
which  is  dammed  up  by  sand  dunes  and  rocks,  (b)  valleys  with  an 
impervious  sub-stratum  and  imperfect  drainage,  (c)  the  banks  of 
shallow  streams,  and  (d)  mountain  districts  where  rain  water  is 
preserved  in  badly  made  cisterns  for  use  in  summer.  Both  these 
diseases  could  be  successfully  combated.  (International  Health 

5 


Syria:        An        E'c  b  n  o  m  i  c         Survey 

Bureau  founded  in  Jerusalem  in  1912  by  Nathan  Straus.)  Besides 
these  diseases  there  are  the  so-called  Aleppo-plague  and  Jericho- 
plague,  confined  to  certain  localities,  and  directly  attributable  to 
the  poor  water  supply.  Other  epidemics  have  occurred  from  time 
to  time,  chiefly  bubonic  plague  and  cholera  brought  by  ships  or 
by  the  pilgrims  to  Mecca. 

Administrative  Divisions. — Syria  is  composed  of  the  following 
administrative  provinces : 

Vilayet  of  Aleppo  (consisting  of  the  Mutessarifliks 

of  Aleppo  and  Aintab) 35,397*  sq.  mi. 

Vilayet  of  Syria  or  Damascus**  (consisting  of  the 
Mutessarifliks  of  Damascus,  Kama,  Hauran, 
and  Kerak)  55,890  "  « 

Vilayet  of  Beirut  (consisting  of  the  Mutessarifliks 

of  Beirut,  Tripoli,  Latakia,  Acre,  and  Nablus)  18,941  "  " 

Mutessariflik  of  Lebanon 2,111     "     " 

Mutessariflik  of  Jerusalem  ,    12,420     "     " 

The  head  of  a  Vilayet  is  called  a  Vali,  the  head  of  a  Mutessari- 
flik (Sanjak,  Liva)  is  called  a  Mutessarif.  The  Mutessarifs  of 
Jerusalem  and  the  Lebanon  are  directly  subordinated  to  the  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior.  Each  Mutessariflik  is  divided  into  a  number 
of  Cazas  or  Kaimakamliks,  with  a  Kaimakam  at  their  head. 

Population. — No  reliable  census  has  ever  been  taken  in  Turkey. 
Since  1902  there  is  a  law  compelling  all  Ottomans  to  record  their 
names  in  the  official  register,  from  which  source  the  following 
information  was  obtained: 

POPULATION  OF  SYRIA  IN  MARCH,  1915 

Estimated  Nomadic 
Men          Women    Population     Total 
(not  registered) 

Vilayet  of  Aleppo 336,384         320,555  212,463  869,402 

Vilayet  of  Damascus 456,031         468,774  924,805 

Vilayet  of  Beirut 408,628         414,679  823,307 

Mutessariflik  of  Lebanon 225,580        182,170  407,750 

Mutessariflik  of  Jerusalem 343,362  55,000f  398,362 

3,423,626 


*  These  figures  are  only  an  approximation. 

**  We  shall  call  it  Damascus  to  avoid  confusion. 

t  Caza  Beersheba. 


Syria:        An        Economic        Survey 


KERAK  HAURAN 

Caza  Population  Gaza  Population 

Kerak     19,551           Hauran    27,691 

Salt 37,235           Ajlun    61,500 

Maan    5,752           Basr  el  Harir 26,448 

Tafileh     7,750           Sueda   24,260 

Azrua    29,382 

Total 70,288           Masmieh 13,825 

Total 183,106 


ACRE  NABLtTS 

Caza                          Population  Caza  Population 

Acre 40,897           Nablus 76,426 

Haifa    .................  30,629           Jenin 41,442 

Nazareth    20,801           Beni  Saab 35,901 

Tiberias     13,102                                                      

Safed    31,735                   Total 153,749 


Total 137,164 


JERUSALEM 
Caza  Population 

Jerusalem  123,017 

Gaza   82,614 

Jaffa     81,490 

Hebron 56,241 

Beersheba  55,000 

398,362 


Population  of  Some  Cities. 

Aleppo   200,000  Tripoli 50,000 

Aintab 70,000  Nablus  30,000 

Antioch    30,000  Haifa     20,000 

Alexandretta     12,000  Nazareth    20,000 

Damascus    300,000  Zahleh    150,000 

Horns  80,000  Jerusalem    80,000 

Hama     70,000  Jaffa     40,000 

Es  Salt   15,000  Gaza 30,000 

Beirut    200,000  Hebron    25,000 

It  is  generally  estimated  that  the  percentage  of  non-registered 
Ottomans  and  of  non-Ottomans  may  be  reckoned  as  being  equal  to 
25  per  cent  of  the  registered  population.  Thus  in  round  numbers 
the  population  of  Syria  would  amount  to  four  million.  Of  these, 

7 


Syria:        An         Economic         Survey 

1%  million  form  the  urban  population  and  2%  million  the 
rural  population,  that  is,  the  population  living  in  villages  and 
tents.  In  the  smaller  towns  as  well  as  in  the  villages  a  large 
number  of  the  inhabitants  are  farmers  and  are  to  be  considered  as 
part  of  the  rural  population. 

With  the  exception  of  Aleppo  and  Damascus  practically  all 
the  Syrian  cities  and  towns  developed  only  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  especially  after  1880. 

1880  1915 

Beirut  80,000 200,000 

Jaffa    10,000 40,000 

Alexandretta    2,000 12,000 

Jerusalem     35,000 80,000 

Density*  of  Population. 

Vilayet  of  Aleppo 15  to  the  square  kilometer 

Vilayet  of  Damascus 13    "    "       "              " 

Vilayet  of  Beirut 34   "    "       "              " 

Mutessariflik  of  Jerusalem 25    "    "       "              " 

Mutessariflik  of  Lebanon 159    "    "       "              " 

Religion. — The  predominant  religion  of  Syria  is  Islam,  em- 
bracing about  4/5  of  the  total  population.  There  are  about  % 
million  Christians  of  various  sects,  especially  in  the  Lebanon,  and 
in  Beirut,  Nazareth,  Bethlehem,  etc.,  where  they  form  the  majority 
of  the  population,  and  also  in  Aleppo,  Damascus,  Jerusalem,  etc. 
The  Jews  of  Syria  number  about  115,000  souls,  concentrated  in 
Jerusalem  (45,000,  60  per  cent  of  total  population),  Aleppo 
(15,000),  Damascus  (10,000),  Beirut  (5,000),  Safed  (8,000), 
Tiberias  (4,000),  Jaffa  (10,000),  Haifa  (3,000),  Hebron  (1,000), 
Sidon  (500),  and  about  40  agricultural  colonies  in  Palestine. 

Language. — The  language  of  the  country  is  the  so-called 
Syrian  dialect  of  Arabic.  Turkish  is  the  official  language,  spoken 
by  government  officials  and  the  more  cultured  classes,  as  well  as 
by  part  of  the  population  in  the  district  between  Aleppo  and 
Asia  Minor.  The  Jews  speak  either  Arabic,  Spaniolish  (Ladino), 
or  Judeo-German,  according  to  their  origin,  in  addition  to  Hebrew 
which  is  known  to  almost  all.  French  is  spoken  by  the  upper 
classes  in  the  coast  towns,  and  German  in  Haifa,  Jaffa,  Jerusalem, 
and  the  German  colonies. 


•  The  population  Is  very  unevenly  distributed. 

8 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

Cultural  Status  of  the  Population. — Thanks  to  its  geograph- 
ical situation  and  the  peculiar  religious  interest  attaching  to  it, 
Syria  is  rather  European  than  Turkish  from  a  cultural  point  of 
view.  Among  the  prominent  factors  in  its  cultural  development 
may  be  mentioned:  (1)  the  Crusades  and  the  medieval  immigra- 
tion of  the  Jews  from  Spain  and  Central  Europe;  (2)  the  immi- 
gration of  Genoese,  Venetian,  and  Greek  merchants  (Levantines) 
who  settled  in  the  coast  towns  and  assimilated  with  the  population ; 
and  (3)  the  influx  of  pilgrims,  monks,  nuns,  and  missionaries, 
and  in  modern  times  the  German  Templars  and  the  Zionist  Jews. 
Culturally  the  Syrian  population  may  be  divided  into  three  types : 
the  inhabitants  of  (1)  the  coast  towns  which  are  the  regular 
stopping-places  of  steamers,  and  Jerusalem;  (2)  the  coast  towns 
to  which  there  is  no  immigration,  and  Damascus  and  Aleppo; 
and  (3)  the  cities  untouched  by  European  influences,  such  as 
Horns,  Hama,  N"ablus,  Gaza,  etc. 

Fluctuation  of  the  Population. — There  are  no  reliable  sta- 
tistics at  hand  regarding  births,  marriages,  and  deaths  in  Syria. 
The  large  number  of  births  is  counterbalanced  by  high  infant  mor- 
tality, especially  among  the  Mohammedans,  so  that  the  population 
either  remains  stationary  or  increases  very  slowly.  It  is  equally 
impossible  to  secure  exact  information  about  immigration  and 
emigration.  In  general,  it  appears  that  in  the  last  three  decades 
there  has  been  a  noticeable  exodus  of  Christians  from  the  Lebanon 
to  America,  and  a  marked  influx  of  Eastern  European  Jews  into 
Palestine,  especially  into  Jerusalem.  During  the  last  30  years  ap- 
proximately 40,000  Jews  have  immigrated,  of  whom  12,000-15,000 
left  in  1914  and  1915  because  of  the  war.  The  number  of  Lebanon 
emigrants  seems  to  have  reached  over  100,000,  about  y±  °^  the 
total  population  of  the  Lebanon.  The  majority  of  them  go  to 
North  and  South  America.  Many  of  them  either  send  money 
home  to  their  families  or  else  return  and  invest  their  earnings  in 
real  estate.  Bethlehemites  and  other  Christians  likewise  immigrate 
to  America,  and  numbers  of  Mohammedans  to  Egypt.  The  Jews 
have  brought  considerable  sums  into  Palestine,  amounting  to 
5-7  million  francs  annually.  (Halukkah,  religious  and  benevolent 
institutions,  etc.)  Besides,  those  who  became  bankers,  merchants, 
and  farmers,  have  increased  the  wealth  of  the  country  by  3 
to  5  millions  annually.  There  has  also  been  an  immigration 
of  Oriental  Jews  into  Palestine,  from  Morocco,  Persia,  Bokkhara, 
and  the  Yemen.  The  Moroccan  and  Persian  Jews  (about  5,000 
in  number)  are  poor  and  feeble,  whereas  the  Bokkharans  (1,000) 


Syria:        An        Economic         Survey 

are  strong  and  well-to-do.  The  Yemenites  (4,000)  have  settled 
not  only  in  Jerusalem  (about  2,000)  but  in  Jaffa  and  the  colonies 
as  well. 

In  enumerating  the  monetary  advantages  which  have  accrued 
to  the  country  as  a  result  of  migrations,  the  sums  received  from 
Christian  churches  for  the  support  of  their  Syrian  institutions 
must  not  be  omitted;  it  reaches  10  million  francs  annually,  at  a 
moderate  estimate. 


10 


PART  TWO. 

THE  ECONOMIC  STRUCTURE  OF  SYRIA  AND  THE  VALUE 
OF  ITS  PRODUCE. 

Syria  is  emphatically  an  agricultural  country.  The  vast  ma- 
jority of  the  population  lives  by  husbandry,  that  is  to  say,  by  its 
three  main  branches,  agriculture  properly  speaking,  arboriculture, 
and  cattle-raising.  Mining  plays  a  small  role,  and  both  silvi- 
culture and  fishery  bring  inconsiderable  returns. 

The  industry  of  Syria  consists  of  three  more  or  less  important 
branches:  (1)  silk-spinning  in  the  Lebanon  and  vicinity;  (2) 
weaving  and  dyeing  of  silk,  cotton  and  wool  in  the  Lebanon  and  in 
Damascus,  Horns,  Hama,  and  Aleppo;  and  (3)  the  production  of 
olive  oil  and  soap  in  Palestine,  Tripoli,  and  Antioch.  Other 
industries  such  as  tanning  (Beirut,  Zahleh,  Horns,  Aintab),  rope 
making  (Damascus,  Aleppo),  manufacture  of  religious  articles 
(Jerusalem,  Bethlehem),  craftsmanship  in  copper  and  wood 
(Damascus),  cigarette-making  (Damascus  and  the  Lebanon),  the 
making  and  repairing  of  machinery,  and  the  manufacture  of  wood, 
building  stones  and  tiles  of  cement  are  relatively  unimportant. 
The  majority  of  artisans  working  for  the  local  trade  are  shoe- 
makers, saddlers,  smiths,  joiners,  and  tinkers.  Traffic  enterprises, 
with  the  exception  of  the  harbor  of  Beirut  and  the  railroads,  are 
limited  to  electrical  plants  for  the  tramways  and  lighting  purposes 
in  Damascus  and  Beirut,  a  gas  plant  in  Beirut,  a  horse  car  service 
in  Tripoli,  and  a  number  of  water-works. 

The  commerce  of  Syria  consists  in  providing  the  country  with 
European  commodities  (especially  dry  groceries,  sugar,  dress  ma- 
terials, coal,  kerosene,  timber,  hardware,  cement)  and  with  the 
sale  within  and  without  the  country  of  the  agricultural  and  the 
few  industrial  products  (export  of  silk,  oranges,  grain,  sesame, 
domestic  dress  materials,  soap,  raisins,  wine). 

The  lack  of  reliable  data  makes  it  difficult  to  give  an  exact 
estimate  of  the  value  of  the  annual  produce  of  Syria  and  of  the 
sums  sent  into  the  country  as  benefactions. 

I.  'Husbandry \ — Husbandry  in  Syria  has  developed  in  two 
directions :  grain  tillage  (in  which  the^  ctwo  year  crop  rotation 
system  is  used,  the  field  being  allowed  to  lie  fallow  one  year  or 
else  planted  with  sesame,  durrha  or  legumes,  and  planted  with 

11 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

wheat  or  barley  the  following  year),  the  chief  product  being  wheat; 
and  arboriculture  (olives,  mulberries,  oranges,  lemons,  vines,  figs, 
apricots,  pistachios,  almonds).  Grain  tillage  predominates  on  the 
plateaus,  arboriculture  on  the  slopes;  both  play  important  roles 
on  the  coastal  plain.  In  addition  to  these,  commercial  plants 
(cotton,  tobacco,  tombeki,  and  hemp)  are  cultivated,  cattle  are 
raised  in  the  Vilayet  of  Damascus  and  in  the  Lebanon,  and  sheep 
and  goats  in  the  Vilayets  of  Aleppo  and  Damascus. 

The  value  of  the  annual  produce  may  be  estimated  approxi- 
mately at  695,000,000  francs,  to  which  must  be  added  about 
5,000,000  francs  which  accrue  to  the  farmers  from  agricultural  by- 
industries  such  as  desiccation,  etc.,  by  means  of  which  perishable 
products  are  preserved  (raisins,  grape  honey,  figs,  apricots,  apricot- 
paste,  table  olives),  making  a  total  of  700,000,000  francs. 

II.  Silviculture. — (Forestry  and  its  products.)     The  prod- 
ucts are  limited  to  fuel,  charcoal,  etc.,  and  the  sweet  pine  kernel, 
and  do  not  exceed  5,000,000  francs  in  value. 

III.  Fishery. — The  value  of  the  annual  catch  of  sea  and  lake 
fish  amounts  to  about  10,000,000  francs. 

IV.  Mines. — The  value  of  the  products  of  mining  properly 
speaking  (asphalt)  is  inconsiderable,  not  amounting  to  more  than 
^4  million  francs.    To  this  must  be  added  1%  million  francs,  the 
value  of  the  building  stones  from  quarries,  making  a  total  of  about 
2,000,000  francs. 

V.  Industries. — Total    value    of    manufactures,    etc.,    about 
30,000,000  francs. 

VI.  Trades.— Total  value,  30,000,000  francs. 

VII.  Traffic. — (1)    Transportation,  45,000,000  francs;    (2) 
pilgrims  and  tourists,  10,000,000  francs. 

VIII.  Receipt  of  Money  from  Other  Countries. — Lebanon, 
30,000,000   francs;   Palestine    (principally   to   Jews),   10,000,000 
francs;  Benevolent  and  religious  Christian  institutions,  10,000,000 
francs. 

The  total,  882,000,000  francs,  is  distributed  somewhat  as 
follows : 

Vilayet  of  Aleppo 222,000,000  francs 

Vilayet  of  Damascus. 350,000,000      " 

Vilayet  of  Beirut 210,000,000      " 

Mutessariflik  of  Jerusalem. 50,000,000       " 

Mutessariflik  of  Lebanon 50,000,000      " 

12 


PART  THREE. 

HUSBANDRY. 
I.    A  Statistical  Summary  of  the  Products  of  Husbandry. 

A.  The  Area  in  Which  Husbandry  is  Practised. — Syria  is  a 
limestone  plateau,  its  average  height  above  sea  level  being  800  to 
1,000  meters.    It  slopes  to  the  sea  in  the  west  and  to  the  steppe 
and  the  desert  in  the  east,  and  is  split  in  the  center  by  a  deep 
depression.    The  coastal  plain  and  the  border  zones  of  the  steppes 
as  well  as  the  depression,  are,  with  the  exception  of  a  narrow  strip 
of  sand-dunes  near  the  sea,  suited  to  husbandry.     Much  of  the 
mountain  district,  on  the  other  hand,  is  not  arable,  as  the  loose 
stratum  of  surface  soil  formed  by  the  disintegration  of  the  stone 
is  being  washed  away  by  heavy  winter  rains,  leaving  the  limestone 
bare.    But  sections  of  the  slopes  and  all  the  transverse  valleys  (for 
instance,  the  Esdraelon  Valley)   are  very  fertile,  as  are  also  the 
Hauran,  where  the  substratum  of  lime  is  covered  by  disintegrated 
lava,  and  other  parts  of  Trans jordania.    In  the  Vilayet  of  Damas- 
cus, as  in  the  rest  of  Syria,  it  seems  that  75  per  cent  of  the  land  is 
mountainous.    In  1915,  according  to  the  official  report,  29  per  cent 
of  the  Vilayet  of  Damascus  was  devoted  to  husbandry,  of  which  10 
per  cent  was  pasture  land. 

B.  Composition   of   the   Soil. — The  physical   and   chemical 
properties  of  the  Syrian  soil  have  not  been  thoroughly  investigated. 
Most  of  the  available  information  is  the  result  of  researches  made 
by  the  Jewish  colonists  in  Palestine.     On  the  coastal  plain,  in  the 
depression,  and  in  the  transverse  valleys  the  soil  is  generally  very 
deep,  whereas  in  the  mountain  districts  it  forms  a  very  shallow 
surface  stratum  of  not  more  than  25-50  centimeters.     Grain  and 
flatrooted  trees  thrive  in  this  soil,  but  not  deeprooted  trees.     Be- 
sides, the  soil  in  the  mountain  districts  is  coarse  grained  and 
porous.     On  the  plain  its  quality  is  not  uniform.     It  is  either 
very  rich  in  clay  and  not  porous  (heavy  soil)  or  else  sandy  (light 
soil).    The  sandy  soil  was  formed  by  a  mixture  of  clay  and  sand 
drifts. 

Wheat  and  sesame  thrive  in  heavy  and  moderately  heavy  soils, 
whereas  barley  does  better  in  lighter  soil.  Orange  trees  require  a 
moderately  heavy  soil;  almond,  fig,  and  eucalyptus  trees  and  vines 
demand  a  light  soil,  and  olive  trees  flourish  in  either. 

13 


Syria:        An        Economic         Survey 

The  soil  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Dead  Sea  in  the  Jordan 
Valley  is  salty  and  unfit  for  cultivation. 

In  some  parts  of  the  mountain  districts  the  trees  seem  to 
grow  directly  on  the  rocks.  This  is  because  what  seems  to  be  a 
rock  is  nothing  but  a  thin  crust  (nari)  which  is  formed  over  loose 
earth,  through  the  crevices  of  which  the  roots  are  able  to  penetrate. 
Another  phenomenon  is  the  luxuriant  tree-plantations  in  the 
sands  of  the  Plain  of  Sharon.  Here  the  stratum  of  sand  is  only 
50-80  centimeters  deep,  and  the  roots  penetrate  to  the  fertile  soil 
beneath. 

C.    Dangers  and  Obstacles  to  Husbandry. 
1.     Natural  Dangers. 

Drought.  The  success  of  the  crops  depends  upon  the  abun- 
dance and  duration  of  the  rain  during  the  rainy  season.  The 
latter  rains  are  indispensable  for  wheat,  although  a  delay  in  the 
former  rains  is  also  detrimental;  this  frequently  occurs  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Gaza  and  Beersheba. 

Frost,  hail,  and  locusts.  These  also  constitute  a  menace  to  the 
crops.  Frost  injures  trees  rich  in  sap  and  evergreen  trees,  which 
can  therefore  be  planted  only  in  the  Jordan  valley  and  the  coastal 
plain.  Heavy  frosts  occur  only  in  Northern  Syria,  and  there  at 
rare  intervals.  Hail,  which  falls  very  seldom,  is  injurious  particu- 
larly to  grapes  and  oranges.  Locusts,  which  constitute  the  gravest 
menace  to  Syrian  husbandry,  are  of  two  varieties,  the  Italian  and 
the  Soudan  wandering  locust.  The  former  kind  appeared  in  the 
Vilayet  of  Aleppo  about  ten  years  ago  and,  having  domesticated, 
caused  a  deal  of  damage.  The  government  has  been  partially 
successful  in  exterminating  it.  The  latter  kind,  far  more  harmful, 
devastated  the  country  in  1866  and  again  in  1915,  when  the  dam- 
age caused  was  estimated  at  100,000,000  francs,  the  Jewish  colonies 
in  Palestine  alone  suffering  a  loss  of  two  or  three  million  francs. 
Since  this  last  onslaught  the  government  has  taken  precautions, 
and  the  small  hordes  which  appeared  in  1916  were  immediately 
exterminated. 

2.     Legal  Obstacles  to  Husbandry. 

The  townships  are  divided  into  several  sections,  in  each  of 
which  the  property  owners  are  compelled  to  plant  only  one  sort  of 
cereal  each  year.  In  some  villages  the  land  is  in  the  permanent 
ownership  of  individuals,  but  in  others  the  old  system  of  communal 
ownership  still  persists,  whereby  the  land  is  apportioned  anew 

14 


Syria:        An        Economic        Survey 

biennially.  In  these  villages  the  individual  does  not  possess  any 
one  piece  of  land,  but  claims  a  certain  portion  of  the  area  of  the 
village.  The  disadvantage  of  this  system  is  that  the  farmer  takes 
no  interest  in  fertilizing  the  land  or  improving  it  in  any  way,  as  it 
passes  out  of  his  possession  in  two  years.  Besides,  he  never  planis 
fruit  trees  except  in  the  town  itself,  where  he  owns  the  land 
around  his  house  permanently. 

What  is  more,  the  tenant  has  practically  no  redress  against 
the  landlord.  In  Northern  Syria  and  parts  of  Trans jordania  there 
are  no  trees  to  be  seen  for  miles  around  because  the  fellaheen  do 
not  trouble  to  plant  trees  on  land  from  which  they  may  be  evicted 
at  any  moment. 

Another  obstacle  to  husbandry  is  the  tobacco  monopoly.  Ac- 
cording to  the  law  of  1914  tobacco  may  be  cultivated  only  in 
certain  cazas  of  the  Vilayets  of  Beirut  and  Aleppo,  although  the 
government  can  grant  permission  to  any  individual  to  grow  to- 
bacco provided  he  complies  with  a  number  of  regulations.  The 
tobacco  fields  are  inspected  and  the  crop  must  be  deposited  in  a 
center  designated  by  the  government.  Tobacco  may  not  be  sold 
by  the  producer  within  the  country,  and  only  under  certain  condi- 
tions to  export  merchants.  The  same  restrictions  hold  good  for 
tombeki. 

Special  permission  must  also  be  obtained  for  rice  cultivation. 


D.    Kind,  Quality,  and  Value  of  Produce. 

1.    Annual  Food  and  Fodder  Crops. 

The  following  table  dates  from  1910,  when  the  harvest  waa 
unusually  poor,  not  more  than  2/3  of  what  it  usually  is: 

Wheat     761,712  tons 

Barley 381,428  " 

Durrha   161,623  " 

Corn    16,983  " 

Vetches  32,984  " 

Horse-beans    93,642  " 

Chick-peas    136,633  " 

Lentils    236,860  " 

Sesame 20,216  « 

15 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

The  total  area  planted  with  annual  crops  amounts  to  12,662,- 
918  dunam  (2,874,393  1/3  acres),  of  which 

5,889,936  dunam  (46.5%)  are  planted  with  wheat 

3,836,842        "  (30.3%)     "         "          "     barley 

1,091,216        "  (  8.6%)     "         "  "     durrha 

723,412  (  5.7%)     "         "          "     vetches,  peas, 

beans,  lentils 

431,329        "  (  3.4%)     «         "          "     cotton 

255,493        «  (  2.0%)     "         "          «     sesame 

434,690  (  3.5%)     "  «     other  crops 

Wheat  is  chiefly  grown  in  the  Hauran,  which  supplies  Da- 
mascus, Beirut,  the  Lebanon,  and  part  of  Palestine,  and  exports 
some  to  other  countries.  Other  wheat  regions  are  parts  of  Trans- 
jordania,  the  Esdraelon  Valley,  and  the  Beka'a  (Coelesyria).  The 
three  kinds  of  wheat  most  extensively  grown  are  Hauran  wheat, 
red  and  white  Salamuni  wheat  (Beka'a),  Baladi  wheat  and  Nursi 
wheat  (Damascus,  Esdraelon  Valley)  and  Douchani  wheat  (Beka'a 
and  Damascus).  Wheat  is  sowed  in  December  or  January  after 
the  first  heavy  rain  and  is  harvested  at  the  end  of  May  on  the 
coastal  plain,  somewhat  later  in  the  mountain  districts.  The  total 
wheat  crop  of  Syria  may  be  estimated  at  a  million  tons.  (Hauran 
and  vicinity  150,000,  Beka'a  100,000,  Esdraelon  Valley  50,000, 
etc.)  Subtracting  10  per  cent  for  seeding,  there  remain  225  kilo- 
grams per  capita  for  the  population.  Up  to  the  present  time  the 
quantity  of  wheat  exported  has  been  negligible.  The  price  of 
wheat  in  the  ports  ranges  from  200  to  250  francs  per  ton. 

Barley,  the  most  important  crop  next  to  wheat,  is  grown  prin- 
cipally around  Horns  and  Hama,  Gaza  and  Beersheba,  and  in 
lesser  measure  throughout  the  whole  country.  The  five  kinds  most 
extensively  cultivated  are  Eoumi,  Arabi,  the  Hama-Homs  variety, 
the  Aleppo  variety,  and  the  Gaza  variety.  Barley  is  in  great  de- 
mand by  English  brewers  and  whiskey  distillers.  Its  price  in 
the  ports  ranges  from  125  to  175  francs  per  ton.  The  annual 
yield  is  estimated  at  500,000  tons. 

Durrha  is  a  summer  crop.  It  is  sowed  in  March  or  April  and 
harvested  in  August  or  September.  Durrha  is  used  for  bread  by 
the  fellaheen.  Part  is  exported  to  Malta  and  Algiers,  and  to 
spirit  factories  in  England.  In  1912  the  total  yield  of  200,000 
tons  was  sold  for  about  30,000,000  francs. 

16 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

Corn  (yellow-grained)  is  sowed  on  about  %  as  much  land  as 
durrha.  In  the  Jolan  it  is  planted  in  August  after  the  wheat 
harvest. 

Eye  and  oats  are  very  infrequent,  being  planted  only  in  the 
German,  Jewish,  and  Circassian  colonies. 

Legumes,  for  the  most  part  chick-peas,  lentils,  beans,  vetches, 
and  lupins,  are  sowed  in  February  and  serve  to  bridge  over  the 
time  between  winter  and  summer  crops.  Beans  are  harvested  in 
April,  chick-peas  in  June  or  July.  Lupin  is  used  as  food,  ferti- 
lizer, and  dye-stuff.  Chick-peas  are  exported,  principally  to  Mar- 
seilles and  Egypt.  The  total  yield  of  legumes  for  household  use 
is  about  500,000  tons. 

Sesame,  which  is  planted  in  the  vicinity  of  Horns  and  Kama, 
in  parts  of  the  coastal  plain,  in  the  Plain  of  Sharon  and  the  Valley 
of  Esdraelon  (the  latter  two  regions  produce  the  best  quality), 
is  a  summer  crop,  and  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  oil.  It  is 
sowed  in  March  or  April  and  harvested  in  August  or  September. 
Of  a  total  of  30,000  tons  a  considerable  part  is  exported,  mainly 
to  France  and  Italy.  Sesame  is  the  crop  most  valued  by  the 
fellaheen.  It  is  a  delicate  plant  and  easily  destroyed  by  heavy 
rains.  Sesame  requires  thorough  tillage  and  much  care.  It  forma 
a  good  green  crop  for  wheat. 

Bice  is  planted  in  small  quantities  in  the  Vilayet  of  Aleppo 
and  in  the  Jolan. 

Alfalfa  and  clover  are  planted  mainly  in  the  Vilayets  of 
Aleppo  and  Damascus.  Alfalfa,  which  requires  much  water,  is 
grown  in  large  quantities  in  the  plain  of  Damascus,  where  it  is 
used  for  fodder.  From  March  to  November  it  is  reaped  every 
few  weeks.  It  is  used  as  an  additional  crop  between  olive  trees. 

Edible  roots  and  tubers,  for  instance  potatoes,  play  a  far 
smaller  role  than  in  Europe.  They  are  hardly  planted  at  all,  except 
in  Damascus  and  Aleppo.  Their  price  ranges  from  80  to  100  francs 
per  ton.  The  total  yield  of  potatoes  and  beets  is  about  200,000  tons. 

Of  vegetables,  especially  melons,  tomatoes,  egg-plant,  cucum- 
bers, onions,  garlic,  carrots,  cabbages,  cauliflowers,  artichokes,  and 
asparagus  are  cultivated.  Melons  thrive  on  the  coastal  plain 
between  Jaffa  and  Haifa.  About  1,000,000  are  exported  yearly, 
worth  approximately  250,000  francs.  Onions  (35,000  sacks  in 
1912)  are  exported  from  Tripoli  and  Latakia.  The  other  vege- 
tables are  used  in  the  country.  The  fellaheen  are  expert  vegetable 
growers.  Watermelons,  squashes,  tomatoes,  egg-plant,  and  onions 
do  not  require  watering. 

2  17 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

2.     Commercial  Crops. 

The  principal  commercial  crops  are  tobacco,  cotton,  anise, 
hemp,  sugar  cane,  fennel,  and  caraway  seed.  Caraway  seed  grows 
in  small  quantities  near  Tripoli  and  is  exported  (1,000  sacks  in 
1912),  as  is  fennel.  Sugar  cane,  which  requires  an  abundance  of 
water,  thrives  only  on  the  coastal  plain  and  in  the  Jordan  Valley. 
It  is  planted  in  February  or  March  and  harvested  in  October  or 
November.  It  has  no  industrial  importance.  Hemp  is  grown  near 
Damascus  and  in  the  Vilayet  of  Aleppo  on  the  Euphrates  and  is 
used  in  the  rope-making  industry.  Hemp-seed  is  also  used  for  food 
for  poultry  and  in  the  manufacture  of  oil.  The  stalks  are  used  for 
fuel.  In  1912  1,300  tons  valued  at  1,000,000  francs  were  grown  in 
the  valley  of  the  Barada.  Anise  is  planted  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Damascus  and  is  used  in  the  production  of  arrack.  Cotton  is  planted 
on  a  large  scale  in  the  Vilayet  of  Aleppo.  Before  the  American 
Civil  War  it  was  cultivated  along  the  whole  coastal  plain  from 
Alexandretta  to  Gaza,  and  the  annual  yield  was  19,800,000  pounds, 
worth  9,000,000  francs.  As  a  result  of  the  slump  in  the  price  of 
cotton  after  the  war  its  cultivation  was  restricted  to  Northern 
Syria.  In  the  last  few  years  unsuccessful  attempts  have  been 
made  to  grow  cotton  further  south,  in  Latakia,  Acre,  Petach  Tik- 
vah,  etc.  The  staple  of  the  Syrian  cotton  is  very  white  and  elastic, 
but  short,  being  about  2  centimeters  in  length. 

The  cultivation  of  tobacco  is  subject  to  the  restrictions  men- 
tioned in  a  preceding  paragraph.  Small  quantities  are  grown  in 
the  Vilayet  of  Aleppo,  larger  quantities  in  the  Vilayet  of  Beirut. 
Most  of  it  is  exported  to  Egypt  and  England,  the  rest  being  made 
into  cigarettes  in  the  Lebanon.  Tombeki,  a  special  kind  of  tobac- 
co used  for  the  narghileh,"  is  grown  mainly  around  Latakia,  but 
also  in  the  vicinity  of  Beirut,  Acre,  Jaffa,  Nablus,  Tripoli,  and 
Jerusalem.  The  total  value  of  the  tobacco  and  tombeki  crops 
reaches  approximately  5,000,000  francs. 

Summary. 
Annual  Crops  Used  for  Food  and  Fodder. 

Tons  Value  in  francs 

Wheat   1,000,000 210,000,000 

Barley     500,000 75,000,000 

Durrha    200,000 30,000,000 

Corn    50,000 6,000,000 

Legumes     500,000 65,000,000 

Sesame    30,000 12,000,000 

Potatoes    200,000 18,000,000 

Vegetables    25,000,000 

Other  plants    — 9,000,000 

18  445,000,000 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

Commercial  Crops  Used  for  Industrial  Purposes. 

Tons  Value  in  francs 

Hemp    1,500 1,200,000 

Cotton 3,000 3,500,000 

Tobacco    2,500 5,000,000 

Other  crops  (Fennel, 
anise,  sugar,  etc.)  . . . . 300,000 


10,000,000 
3.     Fruit  Trees. 

The  olive  tree  comes  first  in  order  of  importance.  It  thrives 
on  the  coast  as  well  as  in  the  mountain  districts,  although  in 
Northern  Syria  its  existence  is  endangered  by  the  heavy  frosts. 
As  the  roots  of  the  olive  tree  require  a  large  area  for  proper  devel- 
opment, not  more  than  nine  or  ten  trees  can  be  planted  to  the 
dunam.  The  tree  becomes  productive  after  eight  to  ten  years. 
The  normal  yield  of  an  olive  tree  is  from  ten  to  twenty  okka 
(1  okka=2.8  pounds).  In  1909-1910  there  were  3,593,566  olive 
trees  in  the  Mutessariflik  of  Jerusalem,  which  bore  74,384,900  okka 
of  fruit.  The  olives  are  either  preserved  green  (September)  or  else 
used  for  the  production  of  oil  (November).  An  okka  of  fresh 
olives  generally  brings  20-25  centimes,  an  okka  of  olive  oil  1.25 
to  1.50  francs. 

Vines  are  grown  throughout  Syria.  The  total  area  covered 
by  vineyards  is  estimated  at  917,227  dunam  (206,400  acres)  which 
yields  270,286,150  okka  of  fruit,  valued  at  30,000,000  francs.  The 
grapes  ripen  at  various  times  between  July  and  November,  accord- 
ing to  the  climate.  Most  of  the  fresh  fruit  is  consumed  in  Syria, 
being  too  perishable  for  transportation.  Eaisins  are  made  mainly 
in  the  Vilayets  of  Aleppo  and  Damascus,  in  the  Lebanon,  at 
Hebron,  and  at  Es  Salt.  The  production  of  wine  is  restricted  to 
Shtorah  in  the  Lebanon  (about  132,000  gal.  annually),  the  Jewish 
colonies  in  Palestine  (1,056,000  gal.)  and  the  German  colonies  near 
Jaffa  and  Haifa  (132,000  gal.).  Besides  wine  the  Jews  make 
cognac,  liqueurs,  and  arrack.  Phylloxera,  which  caused  some 
damage  during  the  last  twenty  years,  has  been  combated  by  the 
introduction  of  American  vines.  In  damp  springs  the  vines  are 
subject  to  oidium  and  plasmopara  (true  and  false  mildew). 

The  mulberry  bush  is  extensively  cultivated  on  the  coastal 
plain  from  Sidon  to  Antioch,  in  the  Beka'a,  etc.  It  is  used  for 
silk-worm  culture.  The  yield  of  cocoons  in  Syria  (mostly 

19 


Syria:        An        Economic         Survey 

in  the  Lebanon)  was  13,376,000  pounds  in  1911.  About  85  per 
cent  is  spun  into  raw  silk  in  the  country  and  then  exported  to 
France.  Because  of  the  depressed  condition  of  the  silk  industry, 
silk-worm  culture  has  grown  less  profitable,  and  in  recent  years 
many  mulberry  plantations  have  made  way  for  other  plantations, 
especially  orange. 

The  cultivation  of  oranges  and  lemons,  especially  the  former, 
has  greatly  increased  in  the  last  two  decades.  Oranges  thrive  on 
the  coastal  plain  and  in  the  Jordan  valley.  As  they  require  arti- 
ficial irrigation  in  summer,  they  are  planted  either  along  streams 
or  on  the  coastal  plain  between  Haifa  and  Gaza,  where  water  may 
be  obtained  at  a  depth  of  from  three  to  thirty  meters.  According 
to  an  official  report  the  Vilayet  of  Aleppo  has  only  18,000  orange 
trees  bearing  180,000  okka  of  fruit,  and  3,235  lemon  trees  yielding 
32,350  okka,  whereas  the  Vilayet  of  Beirut  has  26,430  dunam  of 
orange  and  lemon  trees  producing  21,078,000  okka  of  fruit.  There 
are  no  statistics  at  hand  of  the  area  of  the  large  orange  plantations 
in  the  Mutessariflik  of  Jerusalem  (especially  around  Jaffa),  but 
it  may  be  estimated  at  30,000  dunam,  producing  50,000,000  okka. 
The  Jewish  and  the  German  colonists  plant  seventy  trees  to  the 
dunam.  The  Jaffa  oranges  are  larger  than  those  of  Northern 
Syria.  About  8,000,000  francs  worth  of  oranges  (not  counting 
the  value  of  the  cases)  are  exported  to  Liverpool,  and  smaller 
quantities  are  sent  to  Eastern  ports.  The  consumption  of  oranges 
in  Syria  is  very  high.  The  total  value  of  the  Syrian  orange  and 
lemon  yield  comes  to  about  15,000,000  francs. 

Among  the  other  fruit  trees  grown  in  Syria  are  fig,  apple, 
pear,  peach,  apricot,  pomegranate,  mulberry  (red,  with  edible 
fruit),  almond,  pistachio,  and  walnut  trees.  The  fruit  of  the  carob 
tree  is  partly  made  into  syrup  in  Damascus  and  Sidon,  and  partly 
exported.  The  value  of  all  these  fruits  may  be  estimated  at 
10,000,000  francs.  Almonds  are  cultivated  mainly  in  Palestine. 
In  1913,  528,000  pounds  of  almonds,  worth  225,000  francs,  were 
exported  from  Jaffa.  The  total  value  of  the  almond  crop  is  about 
1,000,000  francs  annually.  Pistachio  nuts  are  grown  in  Aleppo. 

4.     Wild  Fruits. 

Licorice  is  collected  in  large  quantities  by  the  fellaheen  in 
Northern  Syria  and  sold  to  an  American  firm  in  Alexandretta, 
by  whom  it  is  exported.  Since  1914  there  is  a  tax  of  2 
para  (1/5  cent)  on  every  okka  of  licorice  that  is  exported. 
Other  wild  plants  are  buckthorn  berries,  galls,  gum,  tragacanth, 

20 


Syria:        An        Economic        Survey 

radix  scammonia,  and  other  herbs.  The  total  value  of  these  amounts 
to  about  1,000,000  francs.  The  bitter-apple,  which  grows  in  the 
sandy,  unplowed  land  around  Gaza  and  Beersheba,  is  exported 
mainly  to  Germany.  At  the  junction  of  the  Jordan  and  Lake 
Huleh  the  papyrus  reed  grows  in  large  quantities. 

5.     Animal  Husbandry. 

In  round  numbers  there  are  in  Syria :  270,000  horses,  donkeys, 
and  mules,  worth  50,000,000  francs;  500,000  heads  of  neat-cattle, 
worth  60,000,000  francs;  800,000  sheep  and  goats  worth  96,000,- 
000  francs ;  and  180,000  camels  worth  54,000,000,  making  a  total 
of  260,000,000  francs. 

The  horses  of  Syria  are  good,  although  thoroughbreds  are  rare. 

Donkeys  are  used  both  for  transportation  and  plowing. 

The  oxen  in  Damascus  and  the  Lebanon  are  of  a  fairly  good 
breed,  but  in  the  rest  of  the  country  they  are  small  and  neglected. 
The  Damascus  cow  gives  a  maximum  of  3,171  to  4,228  quarts  of 
milk  annually. 

Sheep  are  the  mainstay  of  the  classes  which  live  by  animal 
husbandry.  There  is  only  one  kind,  the  fat  tail  sheep.  The  shear- 
ing takes  place  in  April  or  May.  The  average  yield  is  6^  pounds 
of  wool  per  head. 

There  are  two  varieties  of  goats,  the  mambrina  and  the  horned 
mountain  goat. 

Camels  are  used  only  for  transportation  purposes.  They  are 
purchased  from  the  Bedouin. 

Swine  are  to  be  found  only  in  the  Christian  villages. 

Animal  husbandry  suffers  severely  from  frequent  murrains. 
The  annual  receipts  of  the  whole  country  from  animal  husbandry 
(including  milk,  etc.,  goat's  hair,  hides,  etc)  amount  to  about 
36,000,000  francs.  To  this  sum  must  be  added  the  profits  derived 
from  rearing  the  young  of  the  various  animals,  about  67,000,000 
francs,  making  a  total  of  over  100,000,000  francs.  Most  of  the 
young  animals  are  kept  in  the  country,  although  some  are  exported 
to  Egypt. 

Cow's  milk  is  used  in  the  Vilayet  of  Damascus  and  in  the 
Lebanon,  as  well  as  in  the  Palestinian  colonies.  The  rest  of  the 
population  use  sheep's  milk  and  goat's  milk. 

Wool  is  brought  in  large  quantities  to  the  markets  of  Damas- 
cus, Horns,  etc.,  by  the  Bedouin.  The  Hauran  wool  is  very  strong, 
and  suitable  for  carpets.  Almost  all  the  wool  is  exported  to 
Western  Europe  and  America. 

21 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

6.     Poultry-Raising  and  Apiculture. 

Poultry-raising  does  not  play  an  important  role  in  Arabian 
husbandry.  Chickens,  pigeons,  and  turkeys  are  relatively  abun- 
dant, geese  and  ducks  very  rare.  A  Jewish  colonist  in  Eishon 
FZion  has  attempted  to  introduce  ostrich-farming,  but  the  results 
have  not  yet  been  ascertained. 

Eggs  are  exported  (about  22,500,000  annually)  and  bring  in 
about  900,000  francs. 

Apiculture  is  practised  in  a  primitive  way  by  the  natives, 
modern  methods  being  employed  only  by  the  Palestinian  colonists. 
A  hive  yields  about  33  pounds  of  good  honey  annually. 

7.     Agricultural  By-Industries. 

Among  agricultural  by-products  the  following  must  be  men- 
tioned: raisins,  grape  sugar,  dried  figs,  dried  apricots  (also  apri- 
cots passed  through  a  sieve,  dried,  and  used  as  a  substitute  for 
sugar)  and  preserved  olives. 

II.     Unit  Farming:  Scope,  Method  and  Returns. 

A.  Forms  of  Land  Possession. — The  greater  part  of  the  land 
in  Syria  is  in  the  hands  of  large  proprietors  who  live  either  in  the 
country  or  in  the  city.     According  to  Auhagen,  about  20-30  per 
cent  of  Northern  Syria,  15  per  cent  of  Trans j  or dania,  20  per  cent 
of  Northern  Galilee  and  50  per  cent  of  Judaea  is  still  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  peasantry.     Many  of  the  orange  plantations  around 
Jaffa  (exclusive  of  those  in  the  Jewish  colonies)  belong  to  Effendis 
who  live  in  the  city.     The  Turkish  law  demands  that  all  arable 
land  which  remains  uncultivated  for  three  consecutive  years  revert 
to  the  state;  this  happened  very  frequently  until  recent  years.    The 
tracts  of  land  were  then  auctioned  off  and  acquired  at  a  low  price 
by  the  absentee  capitalists. 

The  usual  size  of  a  Syrian  farm  is  100-200  dunam.  Many 
fellaheen  do  not  possess  more  than  one-half  or  one-fourth  of  this, 
whereas  some  proprietors  own  at  least  100,000  dunam.  It  is 
customary  for  the  owners  of  estates  to  rent  out  their  land  to  specu- 
lators who  in  turn  sublet  it  to  the  fellaheen.  These  generally  pay 
their  rent  in  crops,  on  a  share  system.  As  a  rule  they  are  exploited 
by  the  speculators. 

B.  Methods. 

1.     The  Season  Program  of  Farm  Work;  Crop  Rotations. 
The   agricultural   methods   of   the   fellaheen   are   practically 

22 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

those  of  Biblical  times.  For  instance,  the  plow  is  most  primitive, 
consisting  of  a  wooden  board  with  an  iron  nail  at  the  end,  with 
which  the  farmer  scratches  the  surface  to  a  depth  of  10-15  centi- 
meters. The  system  of  rotation  has  not  been  changed  for  centuries. 
Generally  speaking,  the  program  of  the  fellah  inhabiting  the  coastal 
plain  near  Jaffa  is  as  follows : 

Planting  of  clover  and  lupin 
immedately  after  the  first 
heavy  rainfall Second  half  of  November  and 

first  half  of  December 

Earley    first  half  of  December 

Wheat    December- January 

Lentils     January 

Chickpeas    February 

Weeding    of    wheat,    barley, 

and  legume  fields February-March 

Planting  of  durrha Second  half  of  March- April 

Planting  of  sesame Second  half  of  April  and 

first  half  of  May 

Gathering  in  of  clover  and  lupin Second  half  of  May 

Mowing  of  barley End  of  April  and  first 

half  of  May 
Gathering  in  of  lentils End  of  April  and  first 

half  of  May 
Mowing  of  wheat Second  half  of  May 

and  first  half  of  June 

Gathering  in  of  chickpeas .June 

Weeding  of  sesame June  and  July 

Picking  of  durrha August 

Gathering  in  of  sesame August-September 

Threshing  of  winter  and  sum- 
mer crops  May  to  October 

The  widespread  belief  that  the  same  field  will  yield  two  crops 
a  year  is  erroneous,  except  in  the  case  of  artificially  irrigated  soil. 
It  is  true  that  there  are  two  harvests,  one  in  April  or  May,  the 
other  in  August  or  September,  but  not  on  the  same  field.  The 
fellaheen  employ  the  system  of  two-year  crop  rotation,  according 
to  which  they  plant  sesame,  durrha  or  (on  small  fields)  legumes 
the  first  year,  and  wheat  or  barley  the  second  year.  In  the 
regions  where  the  dew-fall  is  not  sufficiently  heavy  for  sesame  or 

23 


Syria:        An        Economic         Survey 

durrha,  the  soil  is  not  plowed  until  the  summer,  but  is  allowed  to 
remain  as  black  fallow.  At  the  end  of  the  summer  it  is  planted 
with  winter  crops.  The  fellah  tries  to  maintain  an  equilibrium  of 
nutritive  substances  by  planting  first  nitrogen  collectors  (legumes) 
and  deep-rooted  plants,  and  then  nitrogen  consumers  and  shallow- 
rooted  plants.  He  is  careful  to  loosen  and  clean  his  soil  by  means 
of  repeated  plowing  and  frequent  black  fallow. 

2.     Agricultural  Implements. 

The  farms  of  the  fellaheen,  unprogressive  as  they  are,  have 
the  merit  of  being  well-balanced  and  adapted  to  natural  and 
economic  conditions,  whereas  the  dairy  farms  of  the  German  colo- 
nists depend  on  the  proximity  of  a  large  town,  and  the  vineyards 
and  orange  plantations  of  the  Jewish  colonists  require  capital, 
co-operative  production,  a  market,  and  easy  access  to  a  port.  More- 
over those  Jewish  colonies  whose  chief  product  is  grain  (especially 
those  around  Tiberias)  have  not  yet  evolved  a  successful  modus 
operandi.  A  new  system  of  husbandry  will  have  to  be  found,  with 
other  crop  rotations  and  other  branches  of  husbandry,  so  that  the 
individual  may  produce  his  own  requirements  (vegetables,  fruit, 
poultry,  eggs,  honey,  milk,  etc.).  The  primitive  implements  of  the 
fellah  are  suited  to  conditions;  his  plow  conforms  with  the  small 
dragging  power  of  his  oxen,  which  could  not  begin  to  move  a 
European  plow ;  his  sickle  can  be  used  on  stony  ground,  where  the 
cutting  machine  is  valueless.  He  would  gain  nothing  by  replacing 
his  threshing-drag  with  a  threshing-machine,  as  his  time  costs 
nothing.  In  a  word,  innovations  must  be  introduced  gradually, 
as  Syrian  agriculture  becomes  more  European  in  character.  Many 
of  the  machines  imported  by  the  Palestinian  colonists  were  found 
to  be  impractical.  Among  those,  however,  which  proved  useful, 
are  the  European  plows,  reaping  machines  (on  cleared  and  even 
soil),  harrows,  sub-soil  plows,  rotary  plows  and  chaff  cutters.  Sev- 
eral threshing  machines  are  in  use  in  the  Jewish  colonies,  as  well 
as  cultivators  and  diskplows. 

3.     Draft  and  Breeding  Animals. 

Animal  husbandry  is  much  neglected  by  the  fellaheen.  In 
the  Jewish  colonies  horses  and  mules  are  used  in  preference  to  oxen. 

4.     Land  Improvement  and  Fertility. 

In  certain  sections  of  the  mountain  regions  the  declivities 
have  been  skilfully  terraced  in  order  to  prevent  the  soil  from 

24 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

being  washed  away.  Thus  arable  tracts  of  land  are  created. 
This  terracing  was  much  more  resorted  to  in  olden  times.  The 
fellaheen  do  not  usually  trouble  to  clear  the  land  of  stones.  Much 
attention  has  been  given  to  this  phase  of  land  improvement  in  the 
Jewish  colonies,  where  the  stones  are  used  to  build  walls  around 
the  fields. 

Drainage  by  means  of  pipes  has  been  attempted  only  in  one 
place,  namely,  along  the  banks  of  the  Aujah  (north  of  Jaffa).  The 
Jewish  colonists  of  Hudeirah  partially  drained  their  marshes  by 
planting  eucalyptus  forests.  The  large  swamps  along  the  coastal 
plain  could  only  be  drained  by  means  of  canalization,  those  on  the 
banks  of  Lake  Huleh  by  regulating  the  course  of  the  Jordan. 

Afforestation  has  not  been  undertaken  anywhere  except  in  the 
vicinity  of  cities  and  in  the  Palestinian  colonies. 

Fertilizing  is  unknown  to  the  fellaheen.  They  do  not  keep 
cattle  to  any  extent,  and  what  little  dung  they  have  is  dried  and 
used  as  fuel,  or  else  is  heaped  up  on  the  ground  and  remains  un- 
used. The  Palestinian  colonists  used  to  buy  these  manure  heaps 
from  the  Arabs,  who  are  now,  however,  beginning  to  awaken  to  a 
realization  of  their  value. 

5.     Irrigation. 

During  the  dry  season  irrigation  is  indispensable  for  oranges, 
lemons,  etc.  It  is  accomplished  either  by  water  from  the  streams 
or  by  pumps.  Along  the  coastal  plain  from  Gaza  to  Haifa,  there 
are  wells  where  water  is  found  at  sea-level.  Lately  the  natives 
have  followed  the  example  of  the  Palestinian  colonies  and  have  used 
suction  pumps  and  kerosene  or  coal-gas  motors.  The  Jews  were 
also  the  first  to  introduce  the  so-called  "dry  wells,"  which  have 
been  widely  copied. 

In  Petach  Tikvah  a  large  pumping  station  was  constructed 
some  years  ago  by  the  Palaestina,  an  irrigation  company  of  Char- 
lottenburg.  In  1916  the  works  supplied  1,500  dunam  of  orange 
plantations  with  water,  charging  from  15  to  35  francs  per  dunam 
according  to  the  distance  from  the  pumping  station.  The  works 
are  capable  of  irrigating  3,000  dunam.  From  1911  to  1915  numer- 
ous attempts  were  made  to  introduce  new  systems  of  irrigation. 
The  maximum  depth  of  the  wells  along  the  coastal  plain  was 
55  yards.  Several  Jews  sank  two  wells  100  yards  deep  on  the 
slopes  of  Mount  Carmel.  In  the  colony  Huldah  (Judaea)  a  well  of 
200  yards  was  sunk  by  means  of  an  American  drilling  machine. 
Among  the  many  irrigation  projects  of  recent  years  special  mention 

25 


Syr 


i  a 


An         Economic         S  u  r 


v   e  y 


should  be  made  of  those  which  deal  with  utilizing  the  Jordan  and 
the  Aujah.  The  Jordan  project  is  not  easy  of  accomplishment 
because  from  Beisan  to  the  Dead  Sea  the  river  bed  lies  very  deep, 
and  the  water  would  have  to  be  pumped  up  over  100  yards,  unless 
a  long  canal  were  built  from  the  upper  course  of  the  river.  The 
utilization  of  the  Aujah  for  irrigation  purposes  presents  no  serious 
difficulties. 


C.    European  Influences  in  Syrian  Agriculture. 

The  influence  of  the  Palestinian  agricultural  colonies  has  been 
far  greater  than  the  number  of  their  inhabitants  would  lead  one 
to  suppose. 

1.     The  German  Agricultural  Colonies  of  Palestine* 


Founded  Pop. 


Value 
Area     (in  francs)    Principal  products 


Sarona   (near  Jaffa) 1871    225 

Wilhelma  (near  Jaffa) . . .  1902    229 
B'er  Salem    (near  Jaffa).  .1890      10 


Bethlehem  (near  Naza- 
reth)   

Um  el  Amed  (near 
Nazareth  —  also 
called  Waldheim)...1907  100 


8,000     4,000,000     Dairy  products, 
wine,  oranges, 
vegetables. 

10,000     2,000,000     Dairy  products, 
oranges,  cereals. 

3,538       500,000    Wine,  almonds, 
(Agricultural 
orphanage.) 


1907      60      7,500       750,000    Cereals,  timber. 


7,500       750,000     Cereals,  timber. 


(The  German  urban  population  of  Palestine  in  Haifa,  Jerusa- 
lem, and  Jaffa,  which  also  engages  in  husbandry  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, numbers  approximately  1,400  souls.)  The  German  farmers 
introduced  the  European  system  of  crop  rotations  with  fodder  culti- 
vation and  fertilizers.  They  use  artificial  fertilizers  imported  from 
Germany.  They  have  met  with  signally  good  results  in  diversified 
farming. 

2.     The  Jewish  Agricultural  Colonies  of  Palestine. 

The  Jewish  agricultural  settlement  of  Palestine  began  in  1870 
with  the  establishment  of  the  Agricultural  School  Mikveh  Israel 
near  Jaffa  by  Charles  Netter,  the  representative  of  the  Alliance 
Israelite  Universelle.  In  1878  the  first  colony,  Petach  Tikvah, 
was  founded  by  Jerusalem  Jews,  in  1882  Rishon  PZion  was  founded 


Founded  by  Templars  from  Wtirttemberg. 

26 


Syria:         An,         Economic         Survey 

by  Russian  Jews,  and  two  other  colonies  by  Roumanian  Jews, 
namely  Ziehron  Jacob  in  Samaria  and  Rosh  Pinah  in  Galilee.  The 
colonists  went  through  tremendous  sufferings  because  of  sickness 
and  poor  harvests,  and  would  have  succumbed  had  it  not  been  for  the 
help  tendered  them  from  1885  on  by  Baron  Edmund  de  Rothschild 
of  Paris.  The  colonies  in  Upper  Galilee  made  attempts  to  intro- 
duce silk-worm  culture  and  the  production  of  rose  oil,  later  tree- 
plantations  and  grain  cultivation,  whereas  the  Judaean  and  Samari- 
tan colonies  engaged  in  wine  growing.  Wine  cellars  costing  several 
millions  of  francs  were  constructed  in  Rishon  PZion  and  Ziehron 
Jacob.  But  despite  the  superior  quality  of  the  wine  the  sale  did 
not  keep  pace  with  the  production,  and  the  producers  were  faced 
by  a  crisis.  For  a  time  Baron  Rothschild  bought  the  wine  himself 
and  either  stored  it  or  else  sold  it  at  an  enormous  loss.  This 
state  of  things  was  untenable.  Finally,  considerable  tracts  of  vine- 
yards were  replaced  by  other  trees  (especially  almond  trees).  In 
1910  the  failure  of  the  European  wine  crop  made  it  possible  to 
dispose  of  the  stored-up  wine,  and  the  wine-growers,  who  had  mean- 
while formed  an  association  of  Jewish  vintners  and  taken  over  the 
cellars  in  Rishon  FZion  and  Ziehron  Jacob,  began  to  gain  a  firm 
footing  commercially.  They  arranged  for  the  sale  of  their  wines 
by  founding  special  agencies  in  various  countries,  and  created  an 
important  and  remunerative  market  for  themselves  in  Egypt.  They 
produce  from  792,000  to  1,056,000  gallons  of  wine,  cognacs,  and 
liqueurs,  worth  about  a  million  francs.  In  the  meantime,  other 
plantations  were  founded  in  the  colonies — orange,  almond,  olive, 
and  eucalyptus.  The  cultivation  of  oranges  has  assumed  consider- 
able dimensions,  and  has  been  successful,  with  very  few  exceptions. 
The  center  of  orange  growing  is  Petach  Tikvah,  11.2  miles  north 
of  Jaffa.  The  orange  growers  have  also  organized  two  associations, 
Mercaz  and  Pardes,  for  the  sale  of  the  fruit.  In  1913  the  total 
yield  of  oranges  in  the  Jewish  colonies  amounted  to  about  600,000 
cases,  valued  at  2,000,000  francs. 

Besides  the  above-named  colonies,  which  devote  themselves 
mainly  to  orchards,  there  are  three  colonies  in  Judaea,  and  about 
twenty  in  Samaria,  Lower  Galilee,  and  Upper  Galilee,  which  are 
occupied  mainly  with  grain  cultivation  and  animal  husbandry.  The 
colonies  in  Lower  Galilee  were  founded  in  the  years  1902-1910  by 
the  Jewish  Colonization  Association  with  funds  provided  by  Baron 
Rothschild,  who  had  given  over  the  administration  of  the  colonies 
he  was  supporting  to  the  J.  C.  A.  in  1900.  Although  these  colonies 
are  pervaded  by  an  atmosphere  of  enthusiasm,  the  results  of  grain 

27 


Syria:        An        Economic         Survey 

cultivation  have  so  far  not  been  brilliant.  Therefore,  there 
is  a  tendency  to  devote  part  of  the  land  to  orchards,  as  in  the 
Judaean  colonies,  and  to  engage  in  so-called  diversified  farm- 
ing. As  a  matter  of  fact,  grain  cultivation  in  Palestine  is  less 
profitable  for  the  European  immigrant  than  orchards  and,  more- 
over, the  Jew  seems  to  have  a  greater  aptitude  for  the  care 
of  trees  than  for  grain  cultivation.  In  any  case,  the  excellence  of 
the  tree  plantations  in  the  Jewish  colonies  is  admitted  without  a 
dissenting  voice.  They  are  generally  considered  models,  whereas 
grain  cultivation  and  animal  husbandry  as  practised  by  the  Jews 
leave  much  to  be  desired,  and  have  not  as  yet  proved  unquestionably 
profitable. 

Since  the  administration  of  the  colonies  has  been  in  the  hands 
of  the  J.  C.  A.,  an  effort  has  been  made  after  a  fifteen-year  period 
of  support  to  set  the  colonists  on  their  own  feet  again.  The 
J.  C.  A.  succeeded  in  reducing  the  subsidies  accorded  the  colo- 
nists by  a  considerable  amount,  and  in  rendering  some  of  the 
colonies  entirely  independent.  This  task  was  facilitated  by  the 
immigration,  even  before  1900,  of  a  number  of  rich  Eastern  Euro- 
pean Jews,  adherents  of  the  Hovevei  Zion  (Friends  of  Zion)  move- 
ment, who  either  founded  their  own  plantations  or  else  formed 
societies  in  Europe  whose  representatives  were  sent  to  Palestine  for 
that  purpose.  The  number  of  private  plantations  has  grown  since 
1908,  when  several  stock  companies  founded  under  Zionist  auspices 
began  to  establish  farms,  and  so  to  popularize  cultivation  on  a 
large  scale,  of  which  there  was  only  one  instance  in  Palestine  before 
that,  the  farm  school  of  the  J.  C.  A.  in  Sedjera,  founded  in  1899. 
As  a  result  Jewish  agricultural  colonization  not  only  was  enriched, 
but  it  acquired  a  spirit  of  independence  which  had  a  salutary  effect 
on  the  "dependent"  colonies. 

It  has  sometimes  been  asserted,  especially  by  German  agricul- 
turists, that  the  Jewish  colonists  are  not  real  farmers,  but  rather 
manufacturers  of  and  dealers  in  fruits.  Unquestionably  the  Jewish 
plantation  colonies  have  a  strong  commercial  tinge.  In  this  respect 
they  differ  from  the  German  colonies  and  approach  American  farms 
in  character.  The  proprietor  does  not  participate  in  the  work 
himself,  but  undertakes  the  bookkeeping  and  the  sale  of 
the  fruit.  It  may  well  be  asked  whether  in  Palestine  that  which 
the  German  farmer,  judging  by  German  standards,  considers  a 
defect,  may  not  represent  a  higher  grade  of  agricultural  activity. 
In  one  respect,  however,  this  commercial  tendency  is  a  great  draw- 
back, for  it  keeps  the  planter  from  growing  requirements  which 

28 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

he  is  forced  to  buy,  thus  spending  a  considerable  part  of  his  earn- 
ings. If  the  colonists,  with  the  help  of  their  wives,  were  to  produce 
vegetables,  dairy  products,  poultry,  etc.,  their  situation  would  be 
far  less  hazardous. 

The  farmhands  in  the  plantation  colonies  are  Arabs  from  the 
neighboring  villages,  and  also  Jews.  The  Jewish  farm  hands  are 
either  young  people  from.  Eastern  Europe  whose  love  for  Palestine 
and  for  agriculture  has  induced  them  to  become  laborers,  or  else 
Circassian  and  Yemenite  Jews  who  have  immigrated  to  Palestine 
in  the  last  ten  or  twenty  years,  and  are  used  to  a  very  frugal  exis- 
tence. The  wages  of  the  laborers  ranges  from  1.25  to  2  francs  a 
day;  expert  laborers  are  paid  higher  wages  for  special  jobs.  The 
Jewish  laborers  who  have  been  drafted  from  urban  callings  do  not 
accustom  themselves  rapidly  to  farm  work  in  the  hot  Palestinian 
climate;  many  are  unable  to  do  so,  and  others  persevere  in  the 
work  only  at  the  cost  of  a  tremendous  effort,  despite  which  their 
work  is  inferior  to  that  of  the  native  Arab  laborer.  Nevertheless, 
in  March,  1915,  there  were  2,381  laborers  and  their  families  in 
Judaea,  including  941  Yemenites.  Before  the  war,  besides  these 
Jewish  laborers,  there  were  two  or  three  times  as  many  Arab 
laborers.  In  the  colonies  of  Lower  Galilee  where  grain  cultivation 
is  the  rule,  there  are  numbers  of  Jewish  laborers,  in  contrast  to 
Upper  Galilee,  where  the  Jewish  colonist  usually  leases  his  land 
to  the  Arabs. 

The  following  table  gives  a  list  of  all  the  Jewish  agricultural 
settlements,  exclusive  of  those  which  are  no  longer  inhabited 
(Yehudiyeh  near  Petach  Tikvah,  and  Tantura  near  Zichron  Jacob) 
and  of  the  land  which  is  owned  by  Jews,  but  has  not  yet  been 
settled,  namely,  about  56,000  dunam  in  the  Hauran  and  30,000 
dunam  in  Western  Palestine. 

THE   JEWISH  AGRICULTURAL   SETTLEMENTS   OF   PALESTINE 

IN  1914. 

Name  Founded     Area       Pop.  Principal  products        Remarks 

I.    In  Judaea,  near  Jaffa. 

1.  Mikveh  Israel 1870     2,612      100   Wine,  oranges,    Agricultural 

vegetables,  School  of 

cereals,  milk,  the  A.  I.  U. 

2.  Rishon  1'Zion*   ...1882   10,926    1,500   Wine,  oranges,  Big  wine- 

3.  Wadi  Hanin  (Ness  almonds.  cellars. 

Tsionah) 1882     2,390      200    Oranges,  wine, 

. almonds. 


*  Including  the  laborers'  settlement  Nachlat  Yehudah. 

29 


Syria:         An         Economic 


8 


u  r  v   e  y 


Name 


Founded     Area       Pop.  Principal  products        Remarks 


4.  B'er  Jacob  1908      2,040      150    Almonds.  Laborers' 

settlement. 

5.  Rehobot    1890    14,193    1,100    Wine,  oranges, 

6.  Ekron    (Mazkeret  almonds,  olives. 

Batiah)      1884    13,000      360    Cereals,  milk, 

olives,  almonds. 

7.  Katrah    (G'derah)  .1885      5,970      180    Almonds,  wine, 

cereals. 

Kastiniyeh   1896     5,623       170    Cereals,  almonds. 

Ruhamah 

(Djemamah)  .  .1911      6,000        30   Almonds.  Farm. 

Petach  Tikvah  ...1878    23,870    3,300    Oranges,  wine, 

almonds,  olives, 
eucalyptus, 
cereals. 

762      200   Vegetables,         Laborers' 
oranges,  settlement, 

eucalyptus. 
4,220         20    Almonds. 
7,231      100   Almonds,  olives, 

eucalyptus. 

120    Olives,  Farm, 

almonds, 
dairy  products. 
1,973        30    Olives,  Farm. 

almonds. 

4,800        30    Almonds,  Farm, 

olives. 


8. 
9. 

10. 


11.    Ain-Gannim    1908 


12. 
13. 


Kfar  Malal    1912 

Kfar  Saba   .         ..1892 


14.    Ben  Shemen  1906     2,329 


15. 
16. 

17. 
18. 


Hulda    1909 

Kfar  Uriyeh   .     ..1912 


Artuf    1896      4,727 

Motsah  (near 

Jerusalem)     . .  1894        750 


150    Grain,  almonds,  Farm  and 

milk.  colony. 

40    Wine,  olives. 


19. 
20. 

21. 
22. 

23. 
24. 
25. 


II.    In  Samaria,  near  Haifa. 

Hudeirah    1891    32,500      300    Cereals,  oranges, 

olives,  eucalyptus, 

almonds. 
Hephtsibah    .1905     5,908        20    Oranges,  Property  of 

almonds.  "Agudat 

N'tayim." 
Kerkur 1913    15,500        50   Almonds,  Farm. 

oranges,  cereals. 
Zichron  Jacob 1882    30,668    1,000   Wine,  cereals,     Big  wine 

almonds,  cellars. 

oranges,  olives. 
50    Cereals, 

almonds,  wine. 
80    Cereals,  milk, 

almonds. 


Shveyah    . 1891     6,915 

Urn  el  Djemal....l891     7,642 
Atlit    1909      6,800 


26.    Merhaviah    1911     9,415 


80    Cereals.  Colony  and 

Agricultural 
Experiment 
Station. 

100    Cereals,  dairy     Farm  and 
products.  colony, 

almonds. 


30 


a  y 


rid 


Economic 


8  u 


r  v  e  y 


Name 


Founded      Area       Pop.  Principal  products        Remarks 


27.  Sedjerah     1899    17,720      200    Cereals,  olives,    Farm  and 

oak-forests.          colony. 

28.  Mes'chah    1902    10,120      250    Cereals. 

29.  Yemmah  1902    23,290      300    Cereals. 

30.  Poriah  1911     3,545        50    Almonds,  Farm. 

olives,  eucalyptus. 

31.  Raman    1913      5,000        30    Almonds,  Farm. 

olives. 

32.  Bedjen    1904     5,681        50    Cereals. 

33.  Mitspah    1908     2,941        50    Cereals. 

34.  Kinneret    1908      9,000      100    Cereals,  Farm  and 

vegetables,         colony, 
oranges,  almonds. 

35.  Daganiah    1909      3,073        30    Cereals,  Farm. 

vegetables, 
almonds,  oranges. 

36.  Migdal    1910      6,000        50    Cereals,  vege-     Farm. 

tables,  milk, 
almonds,  oranges. 

37.  Bethaniah    1913         600        30    Bananas,  Farm. 

fruits. 

38.  Melhamiyeh    1902      8,477      100    Cereals. 

39.  Rosh  Pinah*  1882    41,987      700    Cereals,  almonds. 

40.  Mishmar  ha- 

Yarden    1890     7,569      100    Cereals. 

41.  Yessod  ha-Maalah.1883    12,228      160    Cereals. 

42.  Metullah    1896    16,731      300    Cereals. 

43.  Ain-Seitun,  .,,-.-.-.» 1891-     6,016        30   Wine,  olives. 

*  Including  21, 88 5  dunam  of  uncultivable  land. 

An  investigation  conducted  in  March,  1915,  showed  that  in  the 
Judaean  colonies  (Nos.  1-17)  there  were  7,499  Jewish  inhabitants, 
including  the  following: 

Colonists  (with  families)   2,735 

Laborers  (with  families)    2,381  (941  Yemenites) 

Tradespeople  (with  families)  . . .   1,268 
Other  callings  or  without  calling.   1,115 

Total... 7,499 

At  the  same  period  there  were  the  following  plantations  in 
these  colonies: 


Dunam 

Oranges     7,900 

Vineyards 12,000 

Almonds   27,000 

Olives,  etc 7,200 

54,100 


Value  per  Dun. 
in  francs 
1,200 
200 
150 
150 


Total 
Value 
9,480,000 
2,400,000 
4,050,000 
1,080,000 

17,010,000 


31 


Syria:        An        Economic         Survey 


In  the  other  Jewish  colonies  in  Palestine  the  plantations  may 
be  estimated  as  follows: 

Value  per  Dun.  Total 

Dunam            in  francs  Value 

Oranges    1,300*               1,000  1,300,000 

Vineyards 2,000                   200  400,000 

Almonds 10,000                   150  1,500,000 

Olives    2,000                   150  300,000 

Eucalyptus 2,000                   100  200,000 


17,300  3,700,000 

Thus  the  total  value  of  the  plantations  in  the  Jewish  colonies 
may  be  estimated  at  21,000,000  francs.  To  this  must  be  added 
the  value  of  the  uncultivated  land  (about  340,000  dunam  at  50 
francs  a  dunam),  approximately  17,000,000  francs,  and  that  of 
the  buildings,  wine-cellars,  water-works,  implements,  live-stock, 
etc.,  making  a  total  of  from  60  to  70  million  francs. 

The  annual  value  of  the  crops  may  be  estimated  as  follows: 

Francs 

Oranges  (600,000-700,000  cases)   2,000,000 

Grapes  (15,840,000  pounds) .,       500,000 

Almonds  (about  1,100,000  pounds) 500,000 

Olives  (about  2,200,000  pounds) 100,000 

Other  tree  plantations  (figs,  eucalyptus,  apricots,  etc.) .          50,000 

Cereals,  legumes,  and  sesame 1,200,000 

Vegetables    100,000 

Dairy  farming 200,000 

Poultry  raising  and  apiculture 50,000 

Receipts  from  travel  and  the  renting  of  vehicles 50,000 


Total 4,750,000 

Taking  it  all  in  all  we  can  say  that  the  plantations  in  the 
Jewish  colonies  are  models  of  their  kind,  and  that  the  colonists, 
through  their  initiative  and  enterprise  have  not  only  organized  the 
sale  of  their  products  in  a  new  and  efficient  way,  but  that  they 
have  made  their  colonies  into  real  oases  of  civilization,  thanks  to 
the  schools,  physicians,  druggists,  and  water-works  they  have  intro- 
duced. They  have  persevered  in  their  work  despite  an  enormous 
sacrifice  of  health,  and  even  life,  and  have  transformed  unwhole- 


*  Of  these  orange  plantations  1,100  dunam  are  situated  In  Hudeirah  and 
HephtBibah. 

32 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

some  spots  like  Hudeirah,  for  instance,  by  the  introduction  of  the 
eucalyptus  tree,  which  drained  the  marshes.  Those  colonies  which 
engage  in  grain  cultivation  are  not  yet  on  a  stable  basis  and  are  still 
groping  for  a  suitable  and  profitable  type  of  farming.  A  great 
problem  is  constituted  by  the  fact  that  the  Jews,  coming  from  a 
European  milieu,  cannot  reduce  their  manner  of  working  and  their 
demands  to  the  low  level  of  the  Arab  without  injuring  their  health, 
their  intellectual  development,  and  their  working  capacity.  On 
the  other  hand,  they  have  not  yet  found  a  way  of  making  grain 
cultivation  so  profitable  that  it  will  admit  of  being  carried  on 
according  to  higher  technical  methods.  The  better  tilling  of  the 
soil  resulting  from  the  employment  of  European  implements  has 
not  yet  produced  an  increase  of  profits  to  correspond  with  the  in- 
crease in  the  expense.  What  is  necesary  is  a  radical  change  in  the 
whole  procedure  of  farming  (introduction  of  cattle  for  food  and 
dairy  purposes,  etc.).  Besides,  the  production  of  vegetables,  poul- 
try, dairy  products,  etc.,  with  the  co-operation  of  the  farmer's  wife 
has  not  yet  been  developed,  and  as  a  result  the  farmer  is  compelled 
to  buy  requirements.  In  this  respect  the  German  colonists  are 
better  situated,  as  their  wives  have  been  of  great  assistance  on  the 
farms. 

The  establishment  of  an  agricultural  experiment  station  in 
Atlit,  near  Haifa,  in  1910,  is  due  to  the  interest  taken  in  Palestine 
by  rich  American  Jews. 

Since  1912  a  Hebrew  monthly,  Hahciklai,  has  been  appearing 
in  Jaffa,  which  deals  with  the  practical  problems  confronting  the 
Jewish  farmers. 

3.     The  Muhajir  Settlements. 

Mohammedan  Circassians  who  left  Kussia  and  Bosnia  after 
the  Treaty  of  Berlin  settled  in  several  sections  of  Trans j or dania 
(for  instance,  Amman,  Djerash,  etc.),  in  Kafr-Kama  near  Tiberias, 
and  in  the  ancient  city  of  Kuneitrah  east  of  Lake  Huleh,  etc.  They 
have  introduced  advanced  agricultural  methods  and  are  skilled 
in  animal  husbandry.  The  Circassians  are  cleanly,  diligent,  and 
courageous. 

4.     The  Influence  of  Monks  and  Missionaries. 

Mention  should  be  made  of  the  agricultural  achievements  of 
the  Christian  monks  and  missionaries.  It  is  they  who  are  respons- 
ible for  the  terraces  and  olive  plantations  of  Bet  j  alia  (near  Jerusa- 
lem), the  forests  of  Kubebeh  (Emmaus),  the  dairy  and  vegetable 
farms  of  Latrun  (between  Jaffa  and  Jerusalem), 


9fiO  t 

,^9 
nyriao  stll  ^aitesiijdiia  luodiiW 


33^''  <anjs9d  lo  emBi^ofiJl  82  10 

U   DO 


S  y 


r  t  a 


n 


Economic        Survey 


D.     Crop  Yields  and  the  Price  of  Land. 
1.     Grain  Yields. 

On  the  unfertilized  soil  of  the  fellaheen  an  average  wheat 
crop  is  eight-  or  ten-fold ;  barley,  beans,  lentils,  and  peas  from  ten- 
to  fifteen-fold,  and  durrha  from  sixty-  to  eighty-fold.  A  dunam  of 
the  best  soil  in  Judaea  yields  308  pounds  of  wheat  or  352  pounds 
of  barley.  The  return  is  much  higher  for  fertilized  or  unusually 
rich  soil,  especially  in  the  Palestinian  colonies,  where  the  yield  in 
good  years  has  been  estimated  as  follows: 


Seeding 

per  hectar 

In  kilograms. 

Clover    135kg. 

Lentils   180 

Karsenne     144 

Barley    192 

Wheat    180 

Chickpeas     90 

Durrha     18 

Sesame 


Gross  Proceeds. 

Yield  in 
comparison 
with  seeding. 
8-15  times 
8-10      " 
15-20 
15 

10-12 

20 

100 

40 


Maximum 

Quantity. 

2,025 

1,800 

2,880 

2,880 

2,000 

1,800 

1,800 

540 


Price  per 
100  kg. 
(infra.) 

18 

13 

15 

16 

21 

16 

12 

44 


Value  in 
franca. 

364.50 

234. 

432. 

460.80 

420. 

280. 

216. 

237.60 


Synopsis  of  Average  Yields  per  Dunam  in  the  Vicinity  of  Jaffa. 


Crop. 

Quality  of 
soil. 

Cost  in  francs. 

"3             Oo 

Gross  profit.                                      0  ^       gt* 

1|    Sf 

Seed.            fc*       t-g 
in  kele.    in  francs,    kele.f  francs.    £         <3  — 

Total. 

Net  profit 
in  francs.* 

Wheat     
Barley     

II 
III 
.     i 

5 

P 

6 
5 
6 
5 

5 
8 
6 

5 
6 

4 

'I* 

1,000  kg. 
700kg. 

650kg. 
500  kg. 
600  kg. 
450  kg. 

800  heads 
600  heads 

30. 
21.             3 
15.              ' 
24. 
18.               i 
15.              i 
27. 
22.50          3 
17.50          3 
12.50          3 
28.              3 
21.              3 
28.              3 
20.              3 
21. 
14. 
35. 
25. 
22.50 
18. 
105.          17( 
75.         13( 

67.50 
52.50 
50. 
37.50 

120. 
90. 

120. 
80. 

6           3. 
6           3. 
4           2. 

\           2.25 
ft            2.25 
&            1.25 
£            1.25 
£            1.75 

fc      i:7S 
14      f: 

.70 
1. 
1. 
1. 
1. 
)  kg.     24. 
>kg.     18. 

4. 
4. 
1. 
1. 

2. 
2. 

2. 
2. 

6 
5 

6 
5 
5 
6 
6 
5 

5 
5 
6 
5 
6 
5 
9 
9 

6 
6 

6 
6 
5 
5 

5 

5 

6 
6 

6 

6 
5 

6 
5 

3 

8 
6 

5 

3 

10 
8 

3 
35 
25 

20 
16 
15 
12 

60 
50 

70 
60 

16. 
13. 
10. 
13.50 
11. 
10. 
14.25 
13.25 
10.25 
8.25 
14.75 
12.75 
15. 
12. 
11. 
8.70 
20. 
18. 
13. 
12. 
65. 
49. 

30. 
26. 
21. 
18. 

67. 
67. 

78. 
58. 

14. 

I 
10.50 
7. 
5. 
12.76 
9.25 
7.25 
4.25 
13.25 
8.25 
13. 
8. 
10. 
5.30 
15. 
7. 

6! 
40. 
26. 

37.60 
26.50 
29. 
19.50 

53. 
33. 

42. 
23. 

Beans 

II 
III 
I 

Lupine    

II 

Vetches    .... 

II 

Lentils    

II 

Durrha        • 

II 

Melons    

II 
'  II 

Potatoes    

Green  beans 
and  peas 

Beets     

II 
II 

'  II 

Cabbage  and 
cauliflower 

Tomatoes  and 
eggplant 

II 

II 

.     I 
II 

•  I,  superior  quality  of  soil ;  II,  middling  quality ;  III,  inferior  quality, 
t  One  kele  =  about  35  liters,  i.  e.,  about  25  kilograms  of  wheat,  20  kilograms 
of  barley,  or  23  kilograms  of  beans,  vetches,  etc. 

J  Without  subtracting  the  osher  and  the  wergho. 

34 


Syria:        An        Economic        Survey 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  the  budgets  of  various  types  of 
farms.  Three  farms  belonging  to  fellaheen  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Lydda  may  be  taken  as  examples  of  native  husbandry.  Type  I 
consists  of  about  100  dunam,  and  is  worked  only  by  the  fellah  ancl 
his  wife;  the  net  profit  amounts  to  about  750  francs  annually. 
Type  II,  of  the  same  size,  is  more  elaborately  run,  the  fellah  em- 
ploying two  laborers  for  several  months  in  the  year;  the  annual 
net  profit  is  1,485  francs  in  a  good  year.  Type  III,  about  500 
dunam  in  size,  requires  five  tenant  partners  (charats),  two  shep- 
herds, and  a  watchman.  The  net  profit  is  1,780  francs.  It  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  the  fellah  is  compelled  to  pay  out  20  per  cent 
of  his  profit  for  taxes,  the  osher,  wergho,  etc.  The  advantage  of 
the  native  farm  is  that  the  income  is  fairly  uniform,  that  the  risk 
is  small,  and  that  little  capital  is  needed  to  run  it. 

The  Jewish  and  German  farms  in  Palestine,  on  the  other 
hand,  which  are  run  according  to  European  methods,  require  a  far 
greater  investment  for  buildings,  etc.  In  general  it  may  be  said 
that  the  native  farmer  requires  an  invested  capital  of  5,000  francs 
inclusive  of  land  (100  dunam)  or  1,000  francs  exclusive  of  land; 
the  Jewish  colonist  requires  an  invested  capital  of  17,000  francs 
inclusive  of  land  (200  dunam)  or  8,000  francs  exclusive  of  land; 
and  the  German  colonist  requires  an  invested  capital  of  24,000 
francs  inclusive  of  land  (200  dunam)  or  14,000  francs  exclusive 
of  land. 


35 


Syria:        An        Economic         Survey 


§ 

I 


^ 

1 


3IIIK 


•uojpnpoj,! 


i! 

sc 

p 
o 


o 

to   OS   rH 
t-   CO   t- 


O         CO         rH 
CO*        00 


•^  to      to 

00  O        CO 


CN        rH   ^ 

q      ^  os 

Ci          OS    rH 


to      co  eo  CN  t-  o 

os      co  TJJ  co  t-  to 

CO        rH  t-*  rH  CO  I- 

rH  to  d  rH  05 


to  ^      O 

o  o      ^o 

«s  1 


So  M  t-  os  co  to 

b-  rH  O  00  OS  CO 

rH   00  to  OS  t^  CO'  00 

<N    CO  O  rH  rH  rH  rj< 

rH   rH  d  CN  CO  to  to 


OOO        CN        to        d        to   I-        to 

CO   OS   •<*        O        ^        CO        00   d        Cl 

eo'  co  ci      •*      to      os      os'  CM      os 


ooo  o 

CO   CC    CO  O  00 

CO  CO   t^  O°  rH 

co  t-  to  eo  eo 


rH         b-        t-O 


s 


'  to      eo 


Illlllililil^l 


4J    ^J    TJ     f^"  fe 

*    g    ,*     V  V 

36 


L's 


°s 

S* 


a 

o 


ft      °0 

-M       rH 


oo  o  o 

tc    0)   00 


jt 


Syria:        An        Economic        Survey 


^ 

1 


PUB  saxBj, 


•S9SBM 


•snojJBA 


ITJUIJUV 


rH  to  b-  O  -*  b-  r-l  O  00 

co  ci  06  co*  os  co  os  co  o 

CSCOCO  OS  O  rH  O  ^  5 

rH  rH  rH  T-|  rH  CO  CO 

to  to  CO  OS  O  O  b*  O  O 

to  to  rH  CO  "*  00  •«*  O  O 

d  C*  i-l  rH  M  rn  rH  O  C4 

to  c*  oo  co  •*  eo  os  t-  eo 

to  OJ  b;  CO  b;  rH  "1J  OS  CO 

to  b-  00  CO  C*  CO  C*  O  d 


O        1O        N        O        P 

•        CD        10       C*        5        » 


:  b-  CO  OS  b-  M  rH  W 

rH   to  i*  C*  i-H  CO  K3 

co  «o  to  o  co  eo  o  o  w 

§§1  is  s  i  g  |  | 

COb-b-  Cl  THI  d  to  O  O 

COb^rH  b-  CO  rH  CD  to  to 

co'b^b^  os  ci  os  co  ei  ci 

t-OSt-  CO  b-  CO  OS  O  O 

^C^rHrHrHrH  COCO 


•       * 

to               -^      t-      co 

CO                   00        b-        O 

1 

'       * 

. 

d 

« 

.  . 

OS 

b- 

g 

•     • 

to 

to        •        •        •      co 

CO           •           •           •        OS 

to 

CO  CO 

eo  co 

CO  CO 

b-                                         rH 

os        •      to        •      os 
b-        •      b-        •      eo 

CO                   CO                   00 

CO                                         rH 

00 

i     I     :     !     !    i 

O 
to 

O 

to 

co  rj5 

s§ 

rH 

r^         §5         «         S        S         i 
b^        00        C4        b^        00        CO 
t-        00        b-        W        CO        OS 
T-l                    rH        T-l                    rH 

318.50  1 

:: 

S  "S     "3  •  *  •  «s  • 

o  o    0:0:0:     : 

&& 

H  ^    ^  :  **  *  +*  •  ^rt 

.2  a 

I  §  S  1^  J^  J^  J1"1  "I  §  "oi^ 

tststs^  Q,  y,  y,  V  CJ 

37 


22 

30 

ii 


as 

S5 

§§ 


COto 
rHW 


B  y 


r  i  a 


An        Economic         Survey 


Average  Yield  of  Tree  Plantations  near  Jaffa. 


Gross  profits.  ^ 

*       J 

'd  #i«3  jlstals  •  fc J3  ££ 

•5  U  0~  O  08  O— •J-'^'     W~ 


l 


-M 

w~  £~ 

|i  Is 

U  £ 


Oranges     I 

II 

Almonds    ! 

II 
III 

Apricots  and 
peaches 


80  $  200.00 
65 t  162.50 
55 t  137.50 
75  kg.  62.50 
50.00 
37.50 


60kg. 
45kg. 


.     I  360kg.  60.00 

II  270  kg.  45.00 

III  180  kg.  30.00 

Olives     I  360kg.  48.00 

II  270  kg.  36.00 

III  180  kg.  24.00 

Vineyards    I  750kg.  50.00 

II  600  kg.  40.00 
III  450  kg.  30.00 


70 
60 
50 
10 
10 
8 

12 

12 

10 

7 

7 

6 

10 
10 


20 
16 
12 

6 

5 

5 

3 
6 
5 

3 

2.50 

2 


2.50  17 
2.50  13 
2.50  10 


.50 
.50 
.50 

.50 
.50 
.50 
.50 
.50 
.50 
.50 
.50 
.50 


4 
3 

5 

5 

4 

4 

3.50 

3.50 

2.50 

2.50 

2 


109.50  90.50 

91.50  71 

74.50  63 

20.50  42 

19.50  30.50 

15.50  22 

22.50  37.50 

21.50  23.50 

17.50  12.50 

17.50  30.50 

16  20 

14  10 

16  34 

15.50  24.50 

13.50  16.50 


*  I,  good  quality  of  land ;  II,  medium  quality ;  III,  inferior  quality. 

tThe  osher  (12.63  per  cent  of  the  gross  profits)  must  be  subtracted  from 
the  net  profit. 

i  Cases.  One  case  contains  from  100  to  150  oranges  and  weighs  about  35 
kilograms. .  

Profitability  of  the  Tree  Plantations  in  the  Jewish  Colonies 
^ near  Jaffa. 

Almonds* 
Vine-  or 

, Oranges,      yards.      Apricots.  Olives. 

1.  Price  per  dunam   (about) 150  45  40  40 

2.  Number  of  trees  per  dunam   (about) . .  60  250  50  10 

3.  Number  of  years  from  time  of  planting 

to :        (a)   first  crop    5  4  5  7-8 

(b)   full  productivity 7-9  6  7-9  12 

4.  Total  cost  (invested  capital),  including 

6  per  cent  interest  up  to  the  time 
of  full  productivity,  and  also  in- 
cluding the  price  of  the  land  in 
francs : 

(a)  up  to   first  crop 1,000  150  160  180 

(b)  up  to  time  of  full  produc- 
tivity   (minus    the    receipts   during 

the  first  crop)    1,200  160  200  230 

5.  Gross  profits  per  dunam  in  the  years  of 

first  crop : 

(a)  in  fruit     (kg.)    20**         300  20  kg.t  80 

100  kg.J 

(b)  in  money     (francs)    55  19  16  12 

6.  Gross  profits  per  dunam  in  the  years  of 

full  productivity : 

(a)  in  fruit      (kg.)    80**          600  60  kg.t          300 

(b)  in  money     (francs)    220  38  48  45 

7.  Annual  cost  of  maintenance  and  har- 

vest in  the  time  of  full  productivity          80  15  20  15 

8.  Wergho  and  osher  in  the  time  of  full 

productivity    25  5  6  5 

9.  Net  profits  in  the  time  of  full  produc- 

tivity              115  18  22  25 

10.  Interest  on  invested  capital  in  time  of 

full   productivity    10% 11%  11%        11% 

*  The  almonds  considered  here  are  the  hard-shelled  (Victoria)  almonds.   The 
soft-shelled  almonds  (Princess)   which  are  not  planted  extensively  take  9  years 
for  the  first  crop  and  13  years  to  reach  the  period  of  full  productivity.     They 
produce  a  smaller  quantity  but  a  more  expensive  quality  than  the  hard-shelled 
almonds. 

**  Cases,  each  containing  35  kilograms.  t  Almonds.         t  Apricots. 

38 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

The  gross  profits  are  smallest  on  the  Jewish  farms,  where  they 
amount  to  96.65-172.31  francs  per  hectar;  on  the  native  farms  they 
come  to  176.66-297.77  francs,  and  on  the  German  farms  to  602.50 
francs. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  this  applies  to  cereal  raising 
farms  and  not  to  tree  plantations. 

2.    Plantation  Yields. 

Plantations  are  far  more  remunerative  than  cereal  raising. 
On  the  Jewish  plantations  near  Jaffa  the  net  profits  on  a  dunam 
of  oranges  are  115  francs,  on  a  dunam  of  almonds,  apricots,  or 
olives,  18.22-25  francs.  Thus  the  interest  on  the  invested  capital 
is  10-11  per  cent. 

In  calculating  the  cost  of  cultivation  the  fact  was  taken  into 
account  that  all  the  agricultural  work  is  done  by  laborers,  and  that 
the  proprietor  busies  himself  with  the  commercial  end  of  the  en- 
terprise exclusively. 

The  large  returns  of  the  plantations  in  Palestine  have  aroused 
the  interest  of  many  European  Jews,  who  have  founded  a  stock 
company,  the  Societe  Ottomane  de  Commerce  d' Agriculture  et 
d'Industrie  (Agudat  N'tayim),  with  a  capital  of  75,000  Turkish 
pounds  (60  per  cent  paid  in),  with  the  object  of  founding  and 
administering  plantations  to  be  owned  by  Jews  living  in  other  lands. 

The  Jewish  agriculturists  have  been  very  successful  with 
almond,  eucalyptus,  and  olive  plantations  along  the  sand-dunes  of 
the  coast  from  Haifa  to  Gaza.  The  sand  is  excellently  suited  to 
the  cultivation  of  the  castor  oil  bush,  as  has  been  proved  by  experi- 
ments in  the  Jewish  colonies.  The  castor  oil  bush  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  not  requiring  much  care,  and  of  entering  upon  its 
period  of  productivity  in  the  second  year.  The  area  east  and  west 
of  Beersheba,  where  there  are  no  trees  at  present,  could  be  utilized 
in  this  manner.  There  are  still  other  desert  trees  which  could  be 
cultivated  where  the  sand  is  too  deep  for  the  castor  oil  bush,  and 
used  for  fuel  or  timber.  In  any  case  it  is  certain  that  many  square 
miles  along  the  dune  and  desert  territory  are  cultivable.  In  olden 
times  the  agricultural  development  of  these  tracts  reached  a  high 
degree. 

As  a  result  of  the  higher  returns  of  the  tree  plantations 
agriculture  was  completely  abandoned  in  certain  districts  of  the 
country,  for  instance  in  the  Palestinian  colonies  which  devoted 
themselves  entirely  to  vine,  orange,  and  almond  raising.  This  led 
to  over-production,  and  the  products  depreciated  in  value.  Large 

39 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

vineyards  had  to  be  torn  up  to  make  room  for  other  plants.  An- 
other danger  of  a  single  crop  is  that  when  it  fails  or  there  is  a  crisis 
in  the  market,  the  planter  has  nothing  to  fall  back  on.  The  wise 
farmer  practises  grain  cultivation  and  animal  husbandry  to  a 
sufficient  extent  to  provide  the  requirements  of  life  for  his  family. 

3.     The  Price  of  Land. 

The  price  of  land  in  the  Lebanon  is  as  high  as  3,000  fr.  per 
dunam  in  some  cases.  In  the  Palestinian  colonies  soil  suitable  for 
orange  plantations  (without  gravity  irrigation)  brings  as  much  as 
300  fr.  per  dunam,  that  suitable  for  almond  and  olive  plantations 
25-100  fr.  per  dunam.  The  best  sort  of  soil  for  the  cultivation  of 
cereals  brings  30-50  fr.  in  Palestine,  or  10-30  fr.  in  Northern  Syria. 

III.     Agricultural  Credits;  the  Activities  of  the  Banque  Agricole. 

Mortgage  loans  by  private  banks  or  societies  is  a  new  thing 
in  Turkey.  Until  recently  mortgage  loans  on  rural  property  were 
made  by  private  individuals  or  by  the  Banque  Agricole,  which  was 
founded  in  1888.  Its  capital  consists  of  the  assets  of  the  loan  banks 
which  it  took  over,  the  proceeds  of  a  special  tax  of  %  Per  cen^ 
levied  for  its  benefit  in  connection  with  the  osher,  and  its  accumu- 
lated profits.  The  bank  may  lend  only  to  farmers  and  only  for 
agricultural  purposes.  It  charges  6  per  cent  interest.  A  law  passed 
in  March,  1916,  gave  the  bank  a  far  larger  field  of  activity.  Up  to 
that  time  it  was  limited  as  to  the  amount  that  it  might  lend  and 
the  period  for  which  the  loans  were  to  run.  It  could  not  lend 
more  than  15  Turkish  pounds  nor  for  more  than  10  years.  These 
restrictions  have  now  been  removed,  and  the  bank  has  been  author- 
ized to  grant  loans  secured  by  grain  collateral  or  to  make  loans 
under  joint  guarantee  for  the  purpose  of  buying  land  and  sub- 
dividing it,  and  of  acquiring  live  stock,  seed,  and  farm  implements, 
to  be  sold  on  the  instalment  plan.  Moreover,  the  law  provides 
that  the  supplemental  tax  levied  with  the  osher  for  the  benefit  of 
the  bank  is  to  continue  until  the  capital  reaches  15,000,000  Turkish 
pounds  (340,000,000  francs).  The  bank  is  also  allowed  to  issue 
certificates  of  indebtedness. 

IV.     Taxation,  Land-Registry,  Property  Ownership,  and 

. .  Inheritance. 

A.     Taxation. 

The  farmer  is  subject  to  the  following  taxes:  (a)  the  titht 
(osher),  originally  10  per  cent,  increased  in  1892  to  12.63  per  cent. 

40 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

The  osher  is  collected  either  from  each  village  as  a  whole  directly 
or  through  an  osher  contractor,  who  collects  the  12  per  cent  from 
each  farmer  in  produce;  (b)  the  land  tax  (wergho)  which  amounts 
two  4/1,000  of  the  value  of  his  land,  plantations,  improvements, 
and  buildings;  (c)  the  cattle  tax  (aghnam)  on  camels,  buffaloes, 
sheep,  goats,  and  pigs  (4  piastres  annually  per  capita  for  sheep 
and  goats,  10  piastres  annually  per  capita  for  camels,  buffaloes,  and 
pigs) ;  (d)  the  road  tax  amounting  to  20-30  piastres  annually. 
Certain  parts  of  Syria  are  exempt  from  the  osher,  paying  in  its 
stead  a  fixed  sum,  which  is  smaller. 

B.  Land  Registry. 

So  far  there  is  no  land  registry  in  Syria,  but  only  a  survey  of 
lots  made  50  years  ago,  inaccurate  both  as  to  size  and  to  boundary. 
A  law  passed  in  1913  provides  for  a  new  register  according  to  Euro- 
pean methods,  but  so  far  it  has  not  been  carried  into  effect  in  Syria. 

C.  Property  Ownership  and  Inheritance. 

The  law  of  the  Koran,  according  to  which  the  land  belongs  to 
the  state,  has  been  violated  in  many  ways.  The  sultan  has  the 
power  of  changing  property  leased  on  long  terms  into  perpetual 
possessions,  etc. 

The  law  holds  good  only  in  the  following  cases : 

(1)  Eeal  estate  cannot  be  handed  down  by  testament, 
but  reverts  to  the  state  if  the  deceased  does  not  leave  any  of 
the  relatives  stipulated  by  law. 

(2)  Real  estate  reverts  to  the  state  if  it  is  not  cultivated. 

(3)  Real  estate  may  be  held  as  security  for  the  debts 
of  the  testator  if  he  is  a  farmer,  except  in  special  cases. 

(4)  With  certain  exceptions  real  estate  cannot  be  sold 
to  corporations. 

(5)  The  consent  of  the  land  registry  commission  must 
be  obtained  before  selling  a  piece  of  land. 

V.     Agricultural  Training  and  the  Introduction  of 
Improvements. 

It  is  only  in  the  last  decade  that  the  government  has  begun  to 
take  the  question  of  agricultural  instruction  into  consideration. 
Two  schools  have  been  founded  near  Aleppo  and  Horns  respectively. 
The  Jewish  Agricultural  School  Mikveh  Israel  near  Jaffa,  founded 

41 


Syria:        An        Economic         Survey 

in  1870,  has  had  as  many  as  100  pupils  at  a  time,  among  them 
several  Moslems.  It  has  proven  to  be  of  considerable  value  to  the 
Jewish  colonies.  Mention  should  also  be  made  of  the  Jewish 
Orphanage  in  Petach  Tikvah,  where  the  inmates  are  given  agricul- 
tural instruction,  as  well  as  of  an  agricultural  school  in  the  same 
colony  which  is  just  beginning  to  function,  and  finally  of  the  Jew- 
ish school  for  girls  in  Kinneret  where  a  two  years'  course  is  given 
in  vegetable  gardening,  dairying,  poultry  raising,  etc.  Similar 
institutions  exist  in  the  German  colonies. 

In  1900,  with  the  help  of  several  American  Jews,  the  Agricul- 
tural Experiment  Station  was  founded  in  Atlit  near  Haifa. 

During  the  period  of  the  War  the  government  has  established 
a  number  of  new  schools. 

The  government  supports  in  several  cities  depots  of  agricul- 
tural machines  which  are  sold  to  the  farmers  at  cost  price  on  the 
instalment  plan.  As  has  already  been  said  Syrian  agriculture 
cannot  be  revolutionized  at  one  stroke  by  the  introduction  of  Eu- 
ropean machines.  (See  page  24.) 

VI.    Measures  for  the  Promotion  of  Agriculture. 

A  systematic  attempt  to  better  agricultural  conditions  should 
aim  not  only  to  introduce  technical  improvements  but  also  to 
change  the  laws  and  the  taxation  and  credit  systems. 


42 


PART  FOUR. 

OTHER  BRANCHES  OF  PRIMARY  PRODUCTION. 
I.     Forestry. 

The  destruction  of  Syrian  forests  has  been  going  on  steadily, 
especially  in  the  coastal  regions,  the  vicinity  of  cities,  and  wherever 
good  roads  or  railways  permit  the  transportation  of  lumber.  The 
war  has  added  to  this  destructive  process,  as  wood  has  been  used 
in  the  place  of  coal.  But  the  worst  enemy  of  forests  are  the  herds 
of  sheep  and  goats. 

The  forests  of  Syria  consist  for  the  most  part  of  firs  and  oaks. 
Besides,  there  are  cypresses,  cedars,  carob  trees,  pistachios,  sumachs 
(in  Trans j or dania),  poplars,  and  plane-trees  in  the  neighborhood 
of  waterfalls. 

The  fir  trees  grow  to  a  considerable  height,  whereas  the  oak 
trees  are  stunted.  In  the  Jewish  colonies,  the  eucalyptus  tree, 
imported  from  Australia  thirty  years  ago,  has  been  used  for  the 
drainage  of  marshes,  especially  in  Hudeirah  (31  miles  north  of 
Jaffa).  Though  practically  none  of  the  Syrian  wood  is  suitable 
for  building  purposes,  it  can  be  used  for  rough  hewn  beams,  posts, 
props,  etc.  Finer  woods  must  be  imported.  Therefore,  most  of 
the  Syrian  wood  is  used  for  fuel,  part  of  it  being  made  into  char- 
coal. The  eucalyptus  trees  in  Palestine  furnish  props  for  the  young 
orange  trees. 

II.     Fishery  and  Game. 

Fishery  in  the  Mediterranean  is  carried  on  by  means  of  small 
sail-boats.  Not  only  are  the  waters  of  the  Syrian  coast  not  rich  in 
fish,  but  in  winter  there  are  severe  storms,  and  in  summer  it  is  too 
hot  to  transport  the  fish  any  distance.  The  streams  and  lakes,  for 
instance  the  lakes  of  Tiberias,  Huleh,  and  Antioch,  are  rich  in 
comestible  fish  which  may  be  caught  with  rods,  nets,  or  dynamite. 
As  there  has  heretofore  been  no  means  of  transportation  nor  any 
factories  for  putting  up  the  fish  the  catch  has  been  limited  to  local 
needs.  In  some  years  the  price  of  a  kilogram  of  fish  of  the  Lake 
of  Tiberias  is  only  one  piastre ;  usually  it  is  about  14  cents. 

Fish  smoking  was  recently  introduced  on  a  small  scale  by 
a  Jew  in  Haifa,  who  used  sea  fish  for  the  purpose.  Formerly 
sponges  were  gathered  to  a  considerable  extent  along  the  Syrian 
coast,  but  not  in  the  last  decades,  as  the  divers  emigrated  to  America. 

43 


Syria:        An        Economic         Survey 

Hunting  is  of  no  economic  importance  in  Syria.  It  is  confined 
to  bird  catching.  In  Southern  Syria  quail  are  caught  in  large 
quantities  in  the  spring,  and  thrushes  and  partridges  in  the  fall. 
Wild  pigeons  are  numerous,  and  wild  duck  are  to  be  found  on  the 
lakes. 

Deer  are  scarce,  but  gazelles  and  boars  are  more  frequent.  In 
Moab  ibex  may  be  found. 

The  commonest  beasts  of  prey  are  the  jackal  and  the  hyena, 
which  are  not  hunted  but  shot.  The  badger  is  seen  occasionally. 
The  gray  Syrian  bear  and  the  panther  are  found  in  the  Hermon 
and  near  the  Jebel  Jermak  in  Upper  Galilee. 

III.     Mining. 

In  spite  of  reports  to  the  contrary  there  is  not  a  single  mine 
worth  mentioning  in  Syria. 

Asphalt  is  found  around  the  Dead  Sea,  in  Hasbeya,  etc. 

Chrome  mines  near  Latakia  have  been  abandoned. 

There  are  small  quantities  of  lignite  in  the  Lebanon. 

Numerous  attempts  to  drill  oil  wells  have  been  abortive  so  far. 
In  1914  the  Standard  Oil  Company  began  to  drill  in  Kurmub, 
about  £31/2  miles  south  of  Hebron,  but  their  operations  were  inter- 
rupted by  the  war. 

It  would  seem  probable  that  there  are  sources  of  bituminous 
substance  in  the  Dead  Sea  district.  Sulphur  is  also  to  be  found 
in  that  region.  There  is  rock-salt  at  the  southwestern  extremity 
of  the  Dead  Sea,  but  it  has  not  been  utilized  because  of  the  difficul- 
ties of  transportation.  During  the  war  salt  has  been  taken  from 
the  frontier  at  El-Arish  to  Gaza.  It  is  also  produced  in  small  quan- 
tities by  evaporation  at  the  northern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea.  The 
following  analysis  of  the  water  on  the  northwestern  shore  of  the 
Dead  Sea  was  made  in  1910 : 

Specific  gravity 1.124% 

Weight  of  solid  constituent  parts 23.85  % 

Sodium  Bromide 52  % 

Potassium  Chloride 1.52  % 

Magnesia  Chloride  10.03  % 

Sodium  Chloride   7.855% 

Calcium  Chloride 1.52  % 

Calcium  Sulphate 146% 

44 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

The  phosphate  mines  discovered  in  Es  Salt  (in  Trans jordania) 
were  to  have  been  operated  by  a  Turko-Italian  company. 

Limestone  and  marble  quarries  are  frequent. 

The  hard  basalt  stone  of  the  Hauran  is  used  for  millstones. 

Plastic  clay  is  found  in  many  places  (Gaza,  Ramleh,  Jerusa- 
lem, etc.)  and  is  used  in  the  making  of  domestic  pottery. 

It  is  hard  to  say  whether  the  lack  of  mines  in  Syria  is  due  to 
an  absence  of  minerals  or  to  the  fact  that  no  search  has  been  made 
for  them. 


45 


PART  FIVE. 

INDUSTRY. 
I.     Type  and  Scope  of  Syrian  Industries. 

The  industries  of  Syria  do  not  play  nearly  so  important  a  part 
in  economic  life  as  agriculture.  While  60-70  per  cent  of  the  popu- 
lation live  from  agriculture,  only  10-15  per  cent  live  from  indus- 
tries and  trades,  about  the  same  percentage  from  commerce,  and 
10  per  cent  from  other  callings.  The  existing  industries  consist 
almost  exclusively  of  home  industries  and  trades.  In  all  Syria 
there  are  not  100  industrial  enterprises  employing  more  than  50 
laborers  in  a  single  factory,  hardly  a  dozen  employing  more  than 
100,  and  not  one  employing  more  than  300.  Only  a  very  few  mills, 
machine  factories,  and  silk  spinning  establishments  may  be  con- 
sidered factories  in  the  technical  sense. 

Many  of  the  chief  industries  are  in  the  hands  of  Europeans, 
especially  machine  factories  and  mechanical  workshops  (Germans, 
Jews),  silk  spinning  establishments  (French),  and  mills  (Germans, 
Levantines).  The  trades  and  the  peculiarly  Syrian  industries  are 
almost  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  natives. 

So  far  the  only  existing  vocational  organizations  are  those  of 
several  kinds  of  artisans,  for  instance  that  of  the  shoemakers  of 
Damascus.  There  is  no  protection  for  workmen,  nor  is  there  any 
system  of  apprenticeship.  Children  are  employed  in  the  domestic 
industries.  Trade  marks  and  patents  were  regulated  by  laws 
passed  in  1880  and  1888. 

II.     The  Main  Branches  of  Industry. 
A.     Textile  Industries  and  Dyeing. 

The  chief  industry  of  Syria  is  the  textile  industry,  including 
the  following  branches : 

(1)  Silk  spinning; 

(2)  Silk,  half -silk,  and  cotton  weaving; 

(3)  Carpet  and  stocking  weaving; 

(4)  Dyeing. 

These  industries  are  engaged  in  principally  in  Aleppo,  Horns, 
Damascus,  the  Lebanon,  etc.  In  Gaza  and  Me j  del,  however,  cotton 
goods  are  woven  and  dyed  for  the  use  of  the  native  population. 

46 


Syria:        An        Economic        Survey 

According  to  the  English  Consular  Keport  of  1910  there  were  500 
looms  in  Mejdel  and  50  in  Gaza  for  which  10,000  Ibs.  of  cotton 
yarn  were  imported  from  Manchester. 

Carpets  with  Jewish  emblems  are  woven  in  the  workshop  of 
the  Bezalel  School  in  Jerusalem  by  Jewish  girls. 

B.     Oil 

(1)  The  production  of  olive  oil  and  soap  is  the  next  most 
important  industry  of  Syria.     There  are  oil  presses  all  over  the 
country.    The  olives  are  picked  in  October  and  November.    From 
220  pounds  of  fresh  olives  about  20-31  pounds  of  oil  are  obtained 
from  the  first  pressing,  and  7-13  pounds  from  the  second  and  third 
pressing,  making  a  total  of  27-44  pounds   (sanza  oil).     In  some 
neighborhoods  the  olives  yield  more  oil  than  others,  especially 
around  Nablus.     There  remain  66-86  pounds  of  water,  and  110 
pounds  of  a  dry  residue  (called  jift).    These  110  pounds  of  jift 
contain  9-11  pounds  of  oil  which  are  extracted  by  a  chemical 
process  (sulphur  oil)  and  used  for  soap  making.     If  there  are  no 
facilities  at  hand  for  this  chemical  process  the  jift  is  used  as  fuel. 
In  the  last  20  years  iron  screw-presses  have  been  introduced  to 
replace  the  primitive  wooden  presses.    Recently  hydraulic  presses 
have  come  into  use.    More  than  half  of  the  olive  oil  produced  in 
Syria  (10,000,000  okka  out  of  17,500,000)  is  used  for  soap  making. 
The  rest  is  made  into  table  oil,  and  is  either  used  for  domestic  con- 
sumption or  else  exported  to  Egypt  and  France.    The  latter  costs 
1.25-1.70  francs  per  okka,  the  former  0.85-1.25  francs  per  okka. 

At  an  approximate  estimate  there  are  from  600  to  800  oil 
presses  in  Syria.  It  costs  only  a  few  thousand  francs  to  set  one 
up,  and  not  much  human  labor  is  required.  According  to  Weakley 
17,450,000  okka  of  oil  were  produced  in  Syria  in  1909,  of  which 
5,500,000  okka  in  Palestine.  The  Syrian  olive  oil  is  inferior  to  the 
French  because  of  the  primitive  method  of  production.  Two  fac- 
tories established  for  the  purpose  of  making  oil  by  a  chemical 
process  from  the  residue  (jift)  by  the  Russian  Jewish  company 
"Atid"  in  Lydda  and  Haifa  were  unsuccessful  because  they  were 
planned  on  too  small  a  scale,  and  the  transportation  of  jift  from 
remote  villages  proved  to  be  too  expensive. 

(2)  Part  of  the  sesame  growing  around  Jaffa  and  Haifa  is 
made  into  table  oil  in  about  40  small  factories,  most  of  which  are 
in  the  Mutessariflik  of  Jerusalem.     When  treated  according  to 
primitive  methods  sesame  yields  about  45  per  cent  of  oil.     Two 
Jewish  factories  in  Jaffa  using  hydraulic  presses  produce  a  better 

47 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

quality  of  oil  which  sells  for  300-335  francs  per  hundred  pounds, 
whereas  the  oil  made  by  the  natives  brings  only  95-125  francs  per 
hundred  kilograms.  The  untrodden  residue  is  used  in  the  fabri- 
cation of  Jialvah,  the  trodden  residue  being  used  for  fodder. 

(3)  The  production  of  volatile  oils,  for  instance  perfumes 
from  mimosa,  has  been  attempted  in  various  parts  of  Syria.     A 
French  company  founded  branches   on  Mt.   Carmel,  in  Zichron 
Jacob,  Petach  Tikvah,  and  Jaffa,  where  fats  were  perfumed  with 
mimosa,  etc.    This  company  ceased  its  activities  several  years  ago. 
Besides  mimosa  oil,  thyme  oil  was  produced  in  the  Jewish  colony 
Artuf,  and  geranium  oil  in  Rishon  1'Zion  and   Petach  Tikvah 
(Baron  Eothschild). 

Laurel  oil  is  made  from  the  fruit  of  the  laurel  bush  in  Antioch, 
the  southern  part  of  the  Vilayet  of  Aleppo,  and  recently  in  the 
Jewish  colony  of  Rosh  Pinah.  Anise  oil  is  made  in  Galilee.  A 
Jewish  factory  uses  the  domestic  essences  in  the  preparation  of 
eau  de  Cologne  and  other  perfumes. 

(4)  Jewish  agriculturists  are  experimenting  with  castor  oil, 
but  so  far  all  attempts  to  produce  it  have  been  on  a  small  scale. 

C.  Soap. 

The  olive  oil  which  is  not  used  for  consumption  serves  for  the 
manufacture  of  soap.  The  demand  for  oil  for  this  purpose  is  so 
great  (about  12,000-15,000  tons  annually)  that  in  some  years  addi- 
tional quantities  have  to  be  imported.  The  centers  of  soap  manu- 
facture are  Tripoli,  Antioch,  BTablus,  Jaffa,  and  Aleppo.  The 
best  soap  is  that  of  Nablus.  The  total  soap  production  of  Syria 
amounts  to  20,000  tons,  worth  about  15,000,000  francs.  There 
are  150  soap  factories,  employing  from  2,000-3,000  laborers. 

D.  Milling. 

Milling  is  one  of  the  most  progressive  and  remunerative  of 
Syria's  industries.  Formerly  there  were  only  water  mills  or  hand 
mills,  the  latter  worked  by  the  wives  of  the  fellaheen.  In  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  windmills  were  introduced  in 
several  cities,  for  instance  in  Jerusalem,  which  have  now  been  re- 
placed by  steam  engines  and  by  kerosene  and  coal-gas  motors. 
The  milling  industry  in  Damascus  and  Jerusalem  has  decreased 
since  railways  were  built.  Macaroni,  for  which  the  Syrian  wheat 
is  well  suited,  is  manufactured  in  Jaffa,  Jerusalem,  and  Beirut, 
in  factories  equipped  with  hydraulic  presses.  Wheat  starch  is  made 
in  Aleppo  and  Damascus,  and  burghul  (wheat  grits)  in  Southern 

48 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

Syria.    The  production  of  pearl-barley  has  not  yet  been  attempted, 
but  would  probably  prove  very  profitable. 

E.  Wine  and  Other  Alcoholic  Beverages. 

The  production  of  alcohol  and  alcoholic  beverages  is  the  only 
branch  of  industry  subject  to  a  special  ad  valorem  tax  of  15  per 
cent,  of  which  half  is  refunded  in  case  the  beverage  is  exported. 
On  the  average  the  tax  amounts  to  15  to  20  centimes  on  every 
gallon  of  wine,  and  1  franc  to  1  franc,  18  centimes,  on  a  gallon  of 
the  finest  brandy.  The  total  production  of  Syria  amounts  to  about 
3,510,000  gallons  (worth  about  5,000,000  francs),  of  which  the 
Jewish  colonies  produce  about  1,040,000  gallons.  The  average 
price  of  the  dry  wine  is  1  franc  per  gallon,  that  of  arrack,*  6  francs 
per  gallon.  In  1910-1911,  9,938,360  pounds  of  wine  were  exported, 
8,621,180  pounds  of  which  from  the  harbor  of  Jaffa,  including 
the  wine  of  the  German  colonies.  Several  by-products,  such  as 
dregs,  tartaric  acid,  and  tartar,  are  exported  from  Eishon  PZion  to 
Europe.  Beer  of  an  inferior  quality  is  made  in  small  German 
breweries. 

F.  Building. 

The  fellah  builds  his  house  of  whatever  material  happens ^to  be 
at  hand,  sometimes  of  stones,  especially  those  gathered  from  the 
ruins,  using  a  mortar  made  of  clay  and  lime.  Otherwise  he  uses 
a  sort  of  clay  brick,  dried  in  the  sun,  over  which  he  spreads  a 
mixture  of  clay,  ground  straw,  and  dung.  In  the  cities  better 
methods  prevail,  and  there  are  some  skilful  masons,  especially  stone 
masons.  The  building  stones  of  Jerusalem,  Tantura,  and  Latakia 
are  beautiful.  In  Jaffa,  on  the  other  hand,  an  unattractive  porous 
tuff  is  used.  In  the  European  quarters  of  certain  cities,  for  in- 
stance in  Tel- Aviv,  the  Oriental  style  of  architecture  has  been 
discarded. 

Lime  is  burned  throughout  the  country,  mostly  in  a  primitive 
manner.  However,  there  are  European  lime-kilns  in  the  larger 
cities.  In  the  last  decade  the  production  of  square-stones,  bricks, 
stair-stones,  door  and  window  frames,  blocks  of  cement  and  sand 
has  increased  considerably  in  Jaffa,  Haifa,  Jerusalem,  Tiberias,  and 
Aleppo.  This  industry  was  mostly  in  the  hands  of  Jews  and 
Germans.  Before  the  war  began  a  silicate  brick  factory  was  being 
erected  in  Jaffa. 

Timber  is  imported  almost  entirely  from  Europe  and  Asia 
Minor,  as  the  domestic  woods  are  not  suitable  for  building  purposes. 

*  A  brandy. 
4  49 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

Heretofore  the  Syrian  builders  have  had  no  capital  at  their 
disposal,  nor  have  they  a  thorough  knowledge  of  their  trade. 

G.    Arts  and  Crafts. 

Damascus  is  the  center  of  the  wood-carving,  inlaid  wood,  and 
copper  industry. 

The  Bezalel  School  in  Jerusalem  has  about  30  employees. 

Bosaries,  crucifixes,  etc.,  are  made  in  Jerusalem  and  Bethle- 
hem, and  are  either  sold  to  tourists  or  exported. 

Laces,  etc.,  are  made  by  Armenian  women,  by  Christians  in 
Jerusalem  and  Nazareth,  and  by  Jewesses  in  Jaffa,  Jerusalem,  Ti- 
berias, and  Safed. 

H.     Other  Industries. 

There  are  two  machine  factories  in  Jaffa  and  one  in  Beirut. 
They  are  chiefly  engaged  in  the  fitting  out  of  irrigation  plants, 
mills,  and  oil  mills.  Each  one  has  a  foundry  connected  with  it. 
In  almost  all  the  larger  towns,  there  are  repair  shops,  smithies,  etc. 
There  are  1,000-1,500  kerosene  and  coal-gas  motors  for  irrigation 
and  industrial  purposes  in  Syria.  Kerosene  is  more  popular  than 
steam  because  it  is  cheaper  and  more  easily  transported. 

Printing  presses  are  io  be  found  in  all  the  larger  cities. 

Eggs  are  shipped  from  Tripoli  and  Latakia,  the  whites  and 
yokes  being  separated  and  packed  in  tin  boxes. 

Artificial  ice  is  made  in  all  the  larger  cities  (Aleppo,  Beirut, 
Damascus,  Haifa,  Jaffa,  Jerusalem). 

Soda  water  is  manufactured  in  Beirut,  Jerusalem,  Haifa,  and 
Jaffa. 

I.     Trades. 

Eope-making  has  its  centers  in  Damascus  and  Aleppo. 

Tanning  is  carried  on  in  Beirut  and  Zahleh  (ox  hides),  Horns 
(sheep  and  goats'  hides),  and  Aintab  (goats'  hides).  The  Aintab 
leather  is  used  for  shoes,  saddles,  etc. 

Tailoring  is  of  importance  only  in  Beirut,  where  the  population 
wears  European  clothes.  The  Singer  Sewing  Machine  Co.  has 
branches  all  over  Syria,  and  sells  machines  on  the  instalment  plan. 

Smithies  are  in  the  hands  of  the  fellaheen,  who  work  in  a 
primitive  way  but  are  considered  very  deft. 

Cartwrights,  as  such,  are  rare.  Carriages  and  wagons  are  made 
by  the  combined  efforts  of  smiths,  carpenters,  etc. 

Tinkers  are  for  the  most  part  Jews,  especially  in  Jaffa,  Jerusa- 
lem, Sidon,  and  Damascus. 

50 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

Carpentry  and  turnery  are  in  a  very  undeveloped  state.  The 
native  population  uses  no  furniture.  What  furniture  there  is  is 
mostly  imported  from  Europe,  or  else  made  in  Jaffa  or  Beirut. 
There  are  practically  no  turneries  except  in  Jerusalem,  where 
candlesticks,  etc.,  are  made  from  olive  wood  by  Jewish  turners. 
The  manufacture  of  cases  for  the  orange  trade  has  attained  con- 
siderable dimensions.  As  none  of  the  cases  are  returned,  except 
those  sent  to  Egypt,  they  have  to  be  made  every  year.  Shortly 
before  the  war  a  factory  was  founded  in  Jaffa  where  cases  were 
made  from  eucalyptus  wood. 

Pottery  is  made  throughout  the  land  by  the  Arabs.  Two  kilo- 
meters from  Jerusalem,  on  the  Jaffa  Road,  there  is  a  large  claypit. 

Basket  and  mat  weaving  is  engaged  in  by  the  natives.  On  the 
Lake  of  Merom  the  women  weave  mats  of  papyrus. 

III.    Abortive  Attempts  to  Introduce  Industries. 

Syria  is,  industrially  speaking,  a  new  country,  and  has  to  meet 
the  problem  of  establishing  an  economic  and  industrial  equilibrium. 
A  country  which  wants  to  build  up  its  industry  must  have  a  pro- 
tective tariff  in  order  to  compete  with  established  industries.  This 
Syria  has  not  had  up  to  now.  Besides,  the  following  points  must 
be  taken  into  consideration : 

(1.)  Raw  products  of  good  quality  must  be  obtainable  in  the 
country  in  sufficient  quantities  and  at  a  reasonable  price; 

(2.)  There  should  be  as  great  a  demand  as  possible  for  the 
manufactured  products  in  the  country  itself; 

(3.)  The  newly  introduced  industries  must  be  conducted 
according  to  the  most  up-to-date  methods ; 

(4.)  A  factory  must  be  so  located  that  the  cost  of  transport- 
ing the  raw  material  to  it  and  the  finished  product  from  it  be  as 
small  as  possible ; 

(5.)  The  invested  capital  must  be  large  enough  to  allow  for 
unexpected  difficulties.  Similarly,  the  working  capital  must  be 
larger  than  in  European  concerns,  to  allow  for  delays  in  financial 
operations ; 

(6.)  The  undertaking  must  not  be  planned  on  too  small  a 
scale,  for  otherwise  the  administrative  expenses  weigh  too  heavily 
upon  the  undertaking; 

(7.)  It  is  an  important  question  whether  industrial  enter- 
prises should  be  under  European  or  native  management.  Gener- 

51 


Syria:        An        Economic        Survey 

ally  speaking,  it  is  better  that  a  small  enterprise  be  under  native 
management  and  a  large  one  under  European  management; 

(8.)  The  needs  and  desires  of  the  consumer  should  be  care- 
fully studied. 

These  observations  may  be  illustrated  by  several  examples: 
The  manufacture  of  glass  flourished  on  the  Syrian  coast 
from  the  Phoenician  period  to  the  time  of  the  Crusaders.  Now 
it  has  practically  disappeared.  In  1890  Baron  Rothschild  built 
a  large,  up-to-date  glass  factory  in  Tanturah,  thirty  miles  south 
of  Haifa,  where  bottles  were  to  be  made  for  the  wine  produced 
in  the  Jewish  colonies.  This  factory  had  to  be  shut  down  because 
the  sand  proved  unsuitable  for  the  manufacture  of  bottles.  Another 
attempt  was  made  in  1910  to  establish  a  glass  factory  in  Damascus; 
this  failed  because  the  capital  was  not  sufficient  to  tide  it  over  the 
beginning. 

About  ten  years  ago  a  Russian  Jewish  limited  liability  com- 
pany, "Atid,"  established  two  factories  in  Haifa  and  Lydda  respec- 
tively for  the  chemical  extraction  of  oil  from  the  residue  (jift)  of 
the  olives  remaining  in  the  Arabian  oil  presses.  The  factories  oper- 
ated several  years,  at  a  considerable  loss  to  the  company.  A  similar 
factory  in  Motsah  (near  Jerusalem)  failed  also,  whereas  an  Arab 
factory  in  Tripoli  succeeded,  the  reason  being  that  the  latter  was 
larger  and  had  a  smaller  outlay  in  proportion. 

The  manufacture  of  rose  oil  was  carried  on  twenty  years  ago 
in  the  Jewish  colonies  on  the  Sea  of  Merom,  with  the  help  of 
Baron  Rothschild,  but  it  proved  unremunerative  because  of  the 
high  cost  of  the  rose  plantations  and  had  to  be  discontinued.  A 
silk  spinning  establishment  in  Rosh  Pinah  had  the  same  fate,  prob- 
ably because  the  lack  of  transportation  facilities  made  the  securing 
of  cocoons  and  of  coal  very  expensive. 

IV.     Industrial  Training. 

Among  the  trade  schools  in  Syria  mention  should  be  made 
(a)  of  the  Ecole  Professionnelle,  founded  in  Jerusalem  thirty  years 
ago  by  the  Alliance  Israelite  TJniverselle,  for  smiths,  carpenters, 
weavers,  etc.  This  school  had  200  pupils  before  the  war;  (b)  of  the 
Arts  and  Crafts  School  Bezalel,  where  thirty  pupils  are  instructed 
in  drawing,  painting,  modelling,  and  wood  and  metal  work;  (c)  of 
the  Syrian  Orphanage  in  Jerusalem  with  departments  for  the  in- 
struction of  the  blind,  etc.  The  Turkish  government  has  recently 
founded  two  trade  schools  in  Damascus  and  Aleppo,  where  the 
pupils  are  clothed  and  fed  gratis. 

52 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

A  large  polytechnical  school,,  built  in  Haifa  by  Jews,  has  not 
yet  been  opened  because  of  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  It  is  to  consist 
of  six  preparatory  grades  and  complete  courses  in  architecture, 
engineering,  chemistry,  etc. 

V.     Trade  Taxes. 

The  trade  tax  of  1914  is  either  a  fixed  tax  on  the  net  profit  or 
else  it  depends  on  the  rent  and  the  amount  of  wages  paid  by  the 
tax-payer.  All  transportation  companies  pay  a  fixed  tax  of  5  per 
cent;  fire  and  transportation  insurance  companies  pay  3  per  cent 
of  their  annual  premia  besides  a  fixed  supplementary  tax  of  150- 
1,000  piastres.  Life  insurance  companies  pay  .03  per  cent  annually 
of  the  newly  insured  capital.  All  employees  with  a  fixed  salary 
are  assessed  3  per  cent. 

The  following  are  assessed  according  to  the  rent  paid  for  their 
business  offices: 

Bankers 20% 

Merchants,  commission  merchants 
Wholesale  dealers 
Eetail  dealers 

Eetail  dealers  in  foodstuffs 8% 

Artisans    8% 

Millers,  factory-owners,  printers 5% 

Men  engaged  in  certain  occupations,  for  instance  bankers,  pay 
10  per  cent  on  the  rent  of  their  homes.  Tax-payers  must  also  pay  a 
supplementary  tax  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  their  employees. 
There  are  special  regulations  regarding  livery-men,  peddlers,  etc. 
Other  occupations  are  assessed  according  to  a  fixed  rate,  ranging 
from  15-300  piastres. 

VI.     Measures  for  the  Promotion  of  Industry. 

Since  1913  the  government  has  furthered  new  industrial  enter- 
prises having 

(a)  Motive  power  of  at  least  5  H.  P., 

(b)  at  least  1,000  Itq.  invested  in  land,  buildings,  and 
machinery, 

(c)  a  sufficient  number  of  employees  to  do  at  least  750 
days  work  annually, 

(d)  none  but  Ottoman  employees  or  laborers  (excepting 
technicians), 

53 


Syria:        An        Economic         Survey 

by  putting  five  dunam  of  state  land  at  their  disposal,  by  exempting 
them  from  duty  on  imported  machinery,  building  materials,  and 
raw  products,  and  exempting  them  from  taxes  until  1928.  This 
provision  has  not  gone  into  effect  because  of  the  outbreak  of  the 
war,  but  in  order  to  make  it  efficacious  the  following  measures 
should  be  taken : 

(a)  Increase  of  protective  tariff  for  domestic  products, 
and  conclusion  of  favorable  commercial  treaties; 

(b)  Foundation  of  an  industrial  bank  to  facilitate  the 
securing  of  capital  for  industrial  enterprises; 

(c)  Official  inspection  of  industrial  undertakings. 


54 


PAKT  SIX. 

COMMEKCE. 

I.     The  Extent  of  Commercial  Activities  in  Syria. 

(a)  Foreign  trade,  including  import  of  requirements,  and 
export  of  domestic  products; 

(b)  Inland  trade,  within  Syria; 

1.  Transmission   of   domestic   products  from  producer 
to  consumer,  of  imported  commodities  from  importer  to  con- 
sumer ; 

2.  Purchase  of  excess  domestic  products  and  transmis- 
sion to  exporter. 

(c)  Trade  with  the  Bedouin  on  the  eastern  boundary  of 
Syria,  where  the  products  of  animal  husbandry  are  bartered  for 
Syrian  and  imported  commodities. 

Import  and  export  are  conducted  almost  exclusively  by  water, 
even  with  other  parts  of  Turkey  because  of  the  lack  of  railways  and 
the  slowness  and  expense  of  transportation  by  camel. 

The  merchants  of  Syria  belong  to  several  different  categories : 

1.  Levantines.     They  are  proverbially  shrewd,  usually 
well-to-do  and  enterprising; 

2.  Europeans,    (French   and    Germans    in   Beirut   and 
Aleppo,    Germans    in    Haifa,    Jaffa,    and    Jerusalem,    Jews 
throughout  Palestine) ; 

3.  Christian  and  Moslem  Arabs,  together  with  a  number 
of  Sephardic  Jews,  control  almost  the  whole  inland  commerce ; 

4.  Armenians  in  Aleppo  and  especially  in  Aintab. 

There  are  no  Turks  among  the  Syrian  merchants. 

The  natives  manage  their  business  in  Oriental  fashion,  without 
offices  or  employees. 

Commerce  is  conducted  according  to  the  French  Code  de  Com- 
merce. There  is  a  special  ruling  of  1888  applying  to  brokers. 

The  formation  of  unlimited  joint  stock  companies  and  limited 
liability  companies  is  effected  by  legal  registration;  one  of  the 
only  large  export  houses  of  Syria  is  a  stock  company,  namely, 
the  Etablissements  Orosdi-Back,  with  its  seat  in  Paris. 

55 


Syria:        An        Economic         Survey 

II.     Foreign  Trade. 

A.  Ways  and  Usages. 

Import. — Syria  depends  on  other  countries  for  minerals  (iron, 
petroleum,  coal,  etc.),  timber,  industrial  products  (cotton  goods, 
wool,  etc.),  and  dry  groceries  (sugar,  rice,  coffee,  etc.).  The 
importer  buys  the  merchandise  from  a  foreign  firm  either  by 
correspondence  or  through  a  travelling  salesman,  or  indirectly 
through  an  agent  or  commission  merchant.  Part  of  the  imported 
commodities  are  bought  in  Egypt  instead  of  in  the  country  where 
they  are  produced.  Alexandria  and  Port  Said  are  centers  for 
textiles  and  groceries,  coal,  hardware,  etc. 

Beirut  is  the  main  port  for  woolen  yarns  and  woven  goods, 
which  are  mostly  imported  from  Manchester.  Groceries,  etc.,  are 
generally  sent  direct  to  the  smaller  ports  from  Europe. 

Export. — For  the  most  part  the  same  firms  handle  both  import 
and  export.  The  chief  articles  exported  are:  silk  (cocoons  or  spun 
silk),  domestic  woven  goods  (silk,  half  silk,  wool),  soap,  oranges 
and  lemons,  wheat,  barley,  sesame,  chickpeas,  wine,  and  religious 
articles.  Silk  is  exported  to  Lyons,  barley  (from  Gaza,  Horns, 
Hama)  to  London  and  Hull,  religious  articles  to  America,  soap  and 
butter  to  Egypt  and  Constantinople,  oranges  to  Liverpool,  wine  to 
Egypt,  etc. 

There  are  neither  stock  nor  produce  exchanges  in  Syria. 

B.  Import  and  Export  Statistics. 

Unfortunately,  the  official  import  and  export  statistics  do  not 
deal  with  each  individual  harbor,  but  group  the  Syrian  harbors  as 
follows:  (1)  Beirut;  (2)  all  other  harbors  belonging  to  the  cus- 
toms district  of  Beirut  from  Khan  Yunus  to  Latakia;  (3)  the 
harbors  belonging  to  the  customs  district  of  Alexandretta.  In  the 
year  1910-1911  the  total  import  and  export  of  Syria  amounted  to 
about  248,000,000  francs. 

Value  of  Imports  in  Piastres.* 

^^Sonff^sSict^^lMiuttlretta.  .  .  .129,443,046  33,760,287  163,203,333 

Through  the  port  of  Beirut 413,330,453  5,695,085  419,035,538 

Through  other  ports  belonging  to  the 

customs  district  of  Beirut 147,330,720  15,353,007  162,683,727 

Total 690,104,219       54,808,379       744,913,598 

Value  of  Exports  in  Piastres. 
Through  ports  belonging  to  the  Dutiable.  Duty  free.  Total. 

customs  district  of  Alexandretta 157,733,379         4,158.950       161,892,329 

Through  the  port  of  Beirut 111,473,670          1,607,726       116,031,396 

Through  other  ports  belonging  to  the 

customs  district  of  Beirut 97,578,312  150,690         97,729,002 

Total 366,785,361          5,917,366       375,702,727 

*  4.52  piastres  =  1  franc. 

56 


I 


I 


§ffj$  ** 

S|IS  If 

dTfc  CHfi^SHtctf 

141  f£3f*f 

£31!  ||  ft  ° 

-HH   H«  | 


|  |l 


III 


s 


s'-g     a  !• 

Sg      5    g^ 


.2       2.5     ,w^jpt>«i     .aj-o 

BrflSgsgc'cS'ffig 

w"S         "Hi    ^o  2 


« 

!•! 


-e  eS'O  °HH  3=3 


*"&£         - 


H1 


lUJ.i 


s 


I. 


21 


I       I 

3     £ 


57 


t3 


I 


•xs 

i? 

o 

I 

^ 
g 

« 


-+~> 

I 


fl 

5  -s 

M      o  a? 

H     1  *»E  S 

of  §  S  •  S 

o  s ^  B?S *s  **» 

Ifg  ^52  g 

J£Ho  =5^5 

!  s  Si*  1 

53      >»  S=  45 


. 


England. 
Germany. 


« 


E  s: 


a 


I 


s 


Barley. 
Quinces. 


& 


.   a 


iBJ    B 


*3      « 

a      * 


S8 


Syria:        An        Economic        Survey 

C.     The  Main  Branches  of  Foreign  Trade. 

Import : 

1.  Victuals  and  delicacies. 

1.  Flour. — The  Syrian  wheat  flour  is  not  suitable  for 
fine  pastry.     Flour  is  imported  from  Russia,  Roumania,  and 
Bulgaria,  especially  by  the  Palestinian  Jews.    In  years  when 
the  crops  fail  inferior  qualities  are  imported  from  other  coun- 
tries as  well. 

2.  Sugar  is  imported  from  Austria,  Russia,  etc. 

3.  Rice  is  extensively  used  by  the  well-to-do  natives,  and 
is  imported  from  Egypt. 

4.  Coffee  comes   mostly  from   Santos    (Brazil).     The 
Arabian  coffee  from  the  Yemen  is  of  a  superior  quality,  and 
has  been  much  used  during  the  war. 

5.  Tea  is  brought  from  China,  India,  and  Java.  Recently 
a  large  Moscow  firm  established  a  branch  in  Palestine. 

6.  Cocoa  is  not  much  used  in  Syria,  except  by  Europeans. 

7.  Pepper  is  extensively  used,  especially  the  domestic  red 
pepper.    The  black  pepper  of  the  Peruvian  pepper  tree  grow- 
ing along  the  coast  is  not  used,  but  real  black  pepper  is  im- 
ported from  the  East. 

2.  Alcohol  and  beverages. 

Alcohol  is  imported  from  Russia,  Austria,  and  Java. 
Beer,  etc.,  is  imported  from  Germany  and  Austria,  mineral 
waters  from  France,  Austria,  etc. 

3.  Coal  and  petroleum. 

Coal  is  used  (1)  to  fire  trains,  (2)  to  make  gas  in  Beirut 
and  electricity  in  Damascus,  (3)  for  coal-gas  motors,  (4)  for 
steam  machines,  (5)  for  heating  purposes.  Practically  all  the 
coal  used  in  Syria  is  imported  from  England,  small  quantities 
coming  from  Heraclea  (Turkey)  and  Germany.  In  1910-1911 
the  amount  of  coal  imported  was  143,530,833  pounds,  valued 
at  8,671,198  francs.  According  to  the  official  statistics,  87,966,- 
173  pounds  of  petroleum  were  used  in  Syria  in  1910.  Forty 
years  ago  American  petroleum  was  used  in  Syria  exclusively, 
but  it  has  been  forced  out  of  the  market  by  Russian  petroleum 
from  Baku.  In  recent  years  it  has  partially  regained  its 
former  popularity,  due  to  the  efforts  of  the  Vacuum  Oil  Com- 

59 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

pany.  Smaller  quantities  of  petroleum  are  also  imported  from 
Koumania  and  Galicia.  Petroleum  is  used  for  illumination, 
partly  for  cooking  in  the  cities,  and  in  large  quantities  for 
petroleum  motors.  Petroleum  cannot  be  imported  in  tank 
ships,  but  is  brought  in  in  cases.  A  case  (about  66  pounds) 
costs  8-12  francs  in  the  harbor  towns. 

4.  Various  Commodities. 

Paper  is  imported  mostly  from  Austria-Hungary,  matches 
from  Austria-Hungary,  Italy,  Germany,  etc.  Window-glass 
comes  almost  exclusively  from  Belgium. 

5.  Building  Materials. 

Wood  is  brought  largely  from  the  Bukovina.  According 
to  the  official  statistics  about  3,000,000  francs  worth  was  im- 
ported into  Syria  in  1910-1911. 

Cement  is  much  used  in  building,  and  is  brought  from 
Marseilles,  Belgium,  etc. 

Lime,  gypsum  and  hydraulic  lime  come  from  France  and 
Cyprus. 

Flag-stones  and  tiles  are  brought  from  Marseilles. 
Marble  is  imported  from  Italy,  mostly  on  sailboats. 

6.  Metal,  Metal  Ware,  and  Machines. 

Iron,  hardware,  enamel  ware,  are  sent  to  Syria  from  Bel- 
gium, as  well  as  from  Germany  and  France.  Iron  bedsteads 
come  from  England,  enamel  ware  from  Austria-Hungary  and 
Belgium. 

Copper,  zinc,  tin,  lead,  are  imported  from  England,  Ger- 
many, Belgium,  etc. 

Machines  and  pumps  valued  at  3,850,000  francs  were  im- 
ported into  Syria  in  1910-1911,  including  locomotives,  loco- 
mobiles, steam  motors,  agricultural  machines,  pumps,  sewing 
machines,  etc. 

7.  Woven  Goods,  Fezes,  and  Ready-made  Clothes. 

Woven  goods  worth  about  55,000,000  francs  were  brought 
into  Syria  in  1910-1911,  mostly  from  England.  In  the  last 
years  India  has  begun  to  crowd  England  from  the  cotton  yarn 
market,  and  other  countries  have  participated  in  the  import 
of  cotton  goods. 

Burlap  and  empty  sacks  are  brought  from  India,  Eng- 
land, and  Austria-Hungary. 

60 


S  y 


r  i  a 


An         Economic         Survey 


Stockings  are  imported  from  England,  although  they  are 
manufactured  in  considerable  quantities  in  Syria. 

Fezes  are  imported  from  Austria,  where  there  is  a  syndi- 
cate of  fez  manufacturers. 

Ready-made  clothes  are  imported  mostly  from  Germany 
and  Austria. 

8.  Chemicals,  drugs,  dyes. 

The  main  chemicals  imported  are  soda,  potash,  alum, 
nitric  acid,  sulphur,  sulphuric  acid,  and  glucose.  Drugs  are 
imported  from  Germany  and  other  countries,  especially 
quinine. 

Dyes. — Synthetic  indigo  and  all  chemically  prepared  dyes 
are  imported  from  Germany.  Natural  indigo  comes  from 
India. 

9.  Oranges  and  Lemons. 

The  English  Consular  Eeport  gives  the  following  table 
for  the  export  (including  export  to  Turkey)  of  oranges  and 
lemons  from  Syrian  ports: 


From 
Jaffa     .  . 
Tripoli   . 
Sidon    .  . 
Beirut     . 

1909 
.    744,463 
.    134,000 
.    188,000 
3,200 

Number  of  cases. 
1910             1911             1912 
853,767        869,850     1,418,000 
218,000        135,000        140,000 
125,000          70,000          79,600 
1,200            4,800            1,860 

1913 
1,608,570 

Jaffa    .. 
Tripoli    . 
Sidon    .  . 
Beirut     . 

.4,650,000 
.    600,000 
.    800,000 
.      10,000 

Value  in  francs. 
5,875,000     5,440,000     7^100,000 
900,000        600,000        600,000 
500,000        300,000        300,000 
5,000          15,000            6,000 

7,450,000 

The  Jaffa  oranges,  which  can  be  transported  for  long 
distances,  are  packed  in  cases  containing  about  77 ^pounds 
(144  pieces)  and  sent  to  Liverpool  in  boats  which  come  to 
Jaffa  for  the  purpose.  The  freight  usually  amounts  to  1.50 
francs  per  case.  The  packing  and  bringing  the  oranges  to  the 
port  cost  the  planter  about  2-2%  francs  per  case.  In  Liverpool 
a  case  generally  brings  7-8  francs,  so  that  the  planter  makes 
3-4  francs  net  on  each  case.  Oranges  are  also  sent  to  Egypt 
as  well  as  to  Smyrna,  Constantinople,  and  Odessa. 

61 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 


Orange  Export  from  Jaffa  in  1913-1914. 

To  Liverpool 887,481  cases 

"   Manchester    400      " 

"    London    4,626      " 

"    other  English  ports 3,361      " 

"   Marseilles    3,412      " 

"    Hamburg 9,487      " 

"   Trieste   58,492      " 

"    Odessa    148,409      " 

"    Egypt,  Australia 149,846      " 

"    Turkish  ports 268,942      " 

"   Eoumania  and  Bulgaria. . . .  19,405      " 


Total 1,553,861      " 

The  Jaffa  oranges  are  exported  partly  by  dealers  who  buy 
the  fruit  from  the  planters  before  it  is  ripe.  The  Jewish 
orange  planters  in  the  vicinity  of  Jaffa  are  organized  into  two- 
associations  (Pardess  and  Merkaz)  which  determine  where  the 
oranges  are  to  be  sent.  Each  member  marks  his  cases  with  hi& 
own  name,  so  that  he  may  be  reimbursed  according  to  the 
quality  of  his  fruit.  In  the  year  1913-1914  the  Pardess  ex- 
ported about  270,000  cases,  the  Merkaz  112,000  cases,  and  the 
German  colonists  about  40,000  cases. 

10.  Olive  Oil  and  Soap. 

The  export  of  olive  oil  is  inconsiderable.  In  recent  years 
it  has  not  been  exported  but  imported,  and  used  for  soap 
making.  In  1910-1911  about  five  million  francs  worth  of  soap 
was  exported,  mostly  to  other  parts  of  Turkey  and  to  Egypt. 

11.  Cocoons,  Silk  Yarns,  and  Oriental  Woven  Goods. 

Cocoons  and  silk  yarns  are  exported  from  Beirut  to  Mar- 
seilles. (Raw  silk  yarn  is  imported  into  Syria  from  China.) 

Oriental  woven  goods  are  sent  into  the  interior  of  the 
country  as  well  as  to  Egypt,  Constantinople,  etc. 

12.  Wine. 

Most  of  the  wine  exported  is  that  of  the  Jewish  Vintners' 
Association,  which  exports  Rishon  FZion  wine  from  Jaffa  and 
Zichron  Jacob  wine  from  Haifa  or  Tanturah.  The  wine  is 
exported  to  Egypt  and  in  lesser  quantities  to  Europe  and  to 
America.  In  1913-1914  the  Association  disposed  of: 

62 


Syria:        An        Economic        Survey 

Ked  wine 594,000  gallons 

White  wine  105,600        " 

Sweet  wine   145,200       " 

Arrack   6,864       « 

Cognac     22,440 

Liqueurs    1,320       " 

Total 875,424       " 

Wine  is  also  produced  by  the  German  colonists,  by  the 
Jewish  Agricultural  school  Mikveh  Israel,  by  the  Trappist 
Monks  in  Latrun,  and  in  the  Lebanon. 

13.  Wheat,  Barley,  Legumes,  and  Sesame. 

The  success  of  the  crops  determines  each  year  whether 
these  products  are  to  be  exported  or  imported.  Sesame  is 
practically  always  exported.  In  1910-1911,  when  the  crops 
were  of  average  size,  194,836  pounds  of  wheat,  3,853,784 
pounds  of  barley,  etc.,  were  exported. 

14.  Wild  plants.     (See  page  20.) 

15.  Cattle,  Butter,  Wool,  Hides,  Eggs,  etc.     (See  page  21.) 

III.     Inland  Trade. 

The  inland  trade  of  Syria  consists  in 

(1.)     Supplying  the  consumer  with  domestic  or  imported 

wares ; 

(2.)     Disposing  of  domestic  products  to  the  exporter. 

The  inland  trade  of  Syria  plays  a  much  smaller  role  than  in 
other  countries,  because  the  fellaheen  produce  their  own  require- 
ments to  a  great  extent.  Their  other  needs  are  so  inconsiderable 
that  a  single  storekeeper  can  supply  several  villages.  In  the  cities 
the  inland  trade  is  more  considerable,  although  the  urban  popula- 
tion secures  part  of  its  requirements  from  the  fellaheen  of  the 
neighborhood  (especially  vegetables,  poultry,  etc.),  who  come  to 
the  cities  on  market  days.  The  bazaars  are  grouped  according  to 
trades. 

The  most  important  branch  of  the  inland  trade  consists  in 
supplying  the  cities  and  those  parts  of  the  country  which  are  poor 
in  grain  with  grain,  legumes,  oil-producing  plants,  and  cattle. 
Large  quantities  of  legumes  are  brought  from  Horns  and  Hama  to 
Aleppo,  Tripoli,  Beirut,  and  the  Lebanon,  from  the  Hauran  to 
Damascus  and  Haifa,  from  Trans j or dania  to  Haifa  and  Jerusalem ; 
barley  is  brought  from  Horns  and  Hama  to  Aleppo,  Tripoli,  and 
Beirut,  and  from  Gaza  and  Beersheba  to  Jerusalem  and  Jaffa. 

63 


Syria:        An        Economic         Survey 

Legumes  are  transported  throughout  the  country,  principally 
from  the  Beka'a  and  Transjordania,  sesame  from  the  Plain  of 
Esdraelon  and  the  coastal  plain.  Sheep  are  bought  from  the 
Bedouin  by  dealers  in  the  inland  cities  (Aleppo,  Horns,  etc.)  and 
transported  west  and  south.  The  trader  forms  the  connecting  link 
not  only  between  producer  and  consumer,  but,  in  those  cases  where 
the  production  is  in  excess  of  domestic  needs,  between  producer  and 
exporter.  Sometimes  there  are  several  middlemen.  In  Syria  there 
is  no  clear  distinction  between  wholesaler  and  retailer.  The  Jewish 
and  German  orange  planters  and  the  Jewish  almond  planters,  who 
have  formed  syndicates  which  dispose  of  their  products  at  home 
and  abroad,  depend  neither  on  inland  traders  nor  on  exporters. 
The  vintners  around  Jaffa  have  gone  still  further  in  forming  associ- 
ations both  for  output  and  sale.  Their  wine  is  made  by  a  central 
agency  and  sold  by  a  central  agency. 

The  most  remunerative  branch  of  inland  trade  is  the  distri- 
bution of  the  wares  brought  into  the  country  by  the  importer. 
Goods  bought  in  Beirut  and  Aleppo  are  taken  to  smaller  cities, 
which  in  their  turn  form  distributing  stations  for  towns  and  vil- 
lages. Thus  Damascus,  Tripoli,  Sidon,  Haifa,  Jaffa,  and  Jerusa- 
lem depend  on  Beirut,  while  Acre,  Nazareth,  Tiberias,  and  Safed 
depend  in  their  turn  on  Haifa,  etc.  But  this  relationship  is  of 
a  more  or  less  temporary  nature.  Damascus,  Haifa,  and  Jaffa  are 
beginning  to  emancipate  themselves  from  their  dependence  on 
Beirut  and  to  negotiate  directly  with  European  firms.  Trans- 
jordania, which  heretofore  did  its  buying  in  Jerusalem  and  Nablus, 
has  been  connected  with  Haifa  and  Damascus  by  the  Hejaz  Kail- 
way.  The  opening  of  the  Afuleh-Beersheba  line  will  cause  many 
changes. 

Inland  trade  is  generally  profitable.  The  dealers  are  shrewd 
business  men,  far  more  honest  than  their  reputation  would  lead 
one  to  suppose.  Allied  with  the  inland  trade  is  the  overland 
transportation  of  goods  to  Bagdad  and  other  places  in  the  interior 
by  camel.  This  activity  amounts  to  about  2,000,000  francs. 

IV.     Bedouin  Trade. 

The  centers  of  the  Bedouin  trade  are  Aleppo,  Horns,  Hama  and 
Damascus,  and  in  a  smaller  measure  Zahleh,  Tiberias,  Safed, 
Hebron,  and  Beersheba.  The  Bedouin  bring  the  products  of 
animal  husbandry,  live  stock  (camels,  sheep,  goats,  horses),  wool, 
hides,  butter,  and  eggs  to  the  markets  and  exchange  them  for 
grain,  petroleum,  sugar,  tobacco,  groceries,  fire-arms  and  ammuni- 
tion, dress  goods  and  saddles.  The  value  of  the  products  brought 

64 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

to  trade  centers  by  the  Bedouin  approximates  45,000,000  francs, 

as  follows: 

600,000  sheep   10,000,000  francs 

100,000  camels 25,000,000       " 

Several  thousand  horses 1,000,000      " 

30,000  goats 200,000       « 

Wool  5,000,000       " 

Hides    500,000      " 

Butter  (Sheep's  milk)    3,000,000       " 

Eggs   300,000       " 

Total .45,000,000       " 

The  price  of  a  white  sheep  varies  from  10  to  15  francs,  that 
of  a  red  sheep  from  20  to  30  francs.  A  camel  brings  from  250 
to  500  francs.  The  price  of  a  pound  of  unwashed  wool  is  .57 
francs,  that  of  a  pound  of  washed  wool  1.15  francs.  According 
to  the  official  report  4,700,000  francs  worth  of  wool,  900,000  francs 
worth  of  sheep  and  goat  hides,  70,000  francs  of  other  raw  hides, 
and  2,000,000  francs  worth  of  butter  were  exported  from  Syria  in 
1910-1911. 

Peddlers  from  Safed,  etc.,  go  into  the  desert  with  their  wares. 

V.     Trade  Monopolies  (Salt,  Tobacco  and  Tombelci). 

A.  Salt. — Since  1881  the  salt  monopoly  has  been  given  over 
to  the  Dette  Publique  Ottomane,  which  has  offices  in  Aleppo  and 
Beirut.     The  annual  income  derived  from  this  monopoly  is  about 
2,000,000  francs.     The  salt  is  taken  from  Asia  Minor,  the  Salt 
Lake  of  Jebull  near  Aleppo,  and  the  Dead  Sea,  and  is  sold  either 
at  the  center  of  production  or  at  railway  junctions  and  ports. 
Some  of  the  salt  is  exported.     Before  the  war  large  quantities  of 
salt  were  smuggled  in  by  the  Bedouin. 

B.  Tobacco. — The  Regie  Cointeressee  des  Tabacs  de  L'Empire 
Ottoman  has  offices  in  Aleppo,  Damascus,  Latakia  and  Beirut. 
According  to  an  ordinance  of  1914  the  monopoly  consists  of  (1) 
the  right  to  control  and  buy  all  the  tobacco  which  is  planted;  (2) 
the  right  to  tax  imported  and  exported  tobacco  cut  or  treated ;  and 
(3)   the  right  to  prepare  and  sell  cigars,  cigarettes,  cut  tobacco 
and  snuff. 

This  government  monopoly  is  not  in  force  in  the  Lebanon, 
where  there  are  about  20  cigarette  factories.  These  factories  buy 
up  tobacco  both  in  the  Lebanon  and  also  outside  the  Lebanon  by 
means  of  contraband,  and  succeed  in  selling  their  wares  within 
the  precincts  of  the  Regie.  The  Regie  itself  imports  tobacco  from 

5  65 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

Turkey  and  Greece  and  manufactures  cigarettes,,  etc.,  in  Aleppo 
and  Damascus. 

C.  Tombeki. — Tombeki  is  the  tobacco  used  for  water  pipes 
(narghileh).  It  was  imported  from  Persia  by  the  Societe  du 
Tombac  until  1912,  when  the  monopoly  expired.  Since  then  the 
importer  must  pay  a  tax  of  4  piastres  per  kilogram  to  the  Regie. 
The  tombeki  grown  in  Syria  is  handled  by  the  Regie. 

VI.    Banks  and  Currency. 

A.  Banks. — The  banking  system  of  Syria  is  in  the  hands 
of  the  following  companies,  except  for  a  few  companies  in  Aleppo 
and  Beirut.  (See  page  67.) 

The  Banque  Imp&riale  Ottomane  is  the  central  banking  com- 
oern  of  Turkey  since  1863.  Its  concession  has  been  renewed  several 
times,  now  being  in  force  until  1925.  The  Banque  Imperials 
Ottomane  functions  as  the  Sub-Treasury  of  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment, and  is  the  only  bank  permitted  to  issue  notes.  The  circu- 
lation of  notes  must  always  be  covered  at  least  33  1/3  per  cent 
in  metal.  The  notes  of  the  Banque  Imperiale  Ottomane  have 
never  become  popular,  the  total  circulation  in  1913  not  exceed- 
ing 1,000,000  Ltq.,  only  6  per  cent  of  the  total  liabilities  of  the 
bank.  In  its  capacity  as  Sub-Treasury  the  bank  receives  the 
income  of  the  Government  and  is  responsible  for  all  its  expendi- 
tures. For  this  it  gets  a  fixed  commission.  Besides,  the  bank  is 
free  to  engage  in  all  branches  of  the  banking  business,  so  that  it 
may  really  be  considered  a  private  commercial  bank  which  has  the 
profitable  privilege  of  administering  the  finances  of  the  govern- 
ment. As  before  the  war  its  capital  was  in  foreign  hands  and  the 
government  had  no  influence  in  its  management,  it  did  not  fill  the 
place  which  a  National  Bank  does  in  the  economic  life  of  other 
countries,  namely,  that  of  a  central  institute  which  serves  the 
interests  of  the  country,  administers  its  bank  and  currency  system, 
etc. 

The  banking  system  in  Syria  is  absolutely  unorganized.  Each 
bank  does  business  according  to  its  own  ideas. 

The  Anglo-Palestine  Company,  Ltd.,  with  its  seat  in  London, 
does  business  exclusively  in  Turkey.  Its  object  is  to  better  the 
economic  condition  of  the  Palestinian  Jews.  Apart  from  its  ordi- 
nary banking  business  the  Anglo-Palestine  Bank  extends  credits 
on  real  estate  on  a  small  scale.  It  was  the  Anglo-Palestine  Bank 
that  introduced  mutual  loan  associations  into  Turkey.  According 
to  its  financial  report  of  December  31,  1913,  the  outstanding 
long-term  credits  of  the  Anglo-Palestine  Bank  amounted  to  about 

66 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 


|1 
« 


! 


s* 
| 


if! 

111!; 


iHOO 
1-100 

c.oo 


p"     ©"< 

5        >ac 


BB    O 

I          II 


££ 
•-s  a 


13     •sSa      §      »» 

II    III   g   II 


Is 


«  K 


o       g 

Q       e< 


67 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

900,000  francs,  besides  which  it  had  loaned  about  620,000  francs 
in  short-term  credits  to  52  loan  associations  with  about  2,300 
members.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  activities  of  the 
bank  have  been  suspended. 

The  Banque  Commerciale  de  Palestine  does  regular  banking 
business  in  Jerusalem,  and  recently  has  engaged  in  loaning  money 
to  farmers  on  a  small  scale. 

The  Deutsche  Palastina-Bank  became  affiliated  with  the  syndi- 
cate of  the  Dukes  Hohenlohe  and  Fuerstenburg  about  ten  years 
ago,  when  its  capital  was  increased  to  20,000,000  marks.  Before 
the  war  the  bank  was  to  be  separated  from  the  ducal  combination 
and  administered  by  the  Deutsche  Orientbank,  but  at  present  it  is 
still  working  under  the  syndicate. 

The  banking  business  done  by  private  firms  is  not  of  great 
moment.  In  Aleppo,  however,  there  are  eight  or  ten  bankers  who 
do  regular  business,  and  25  smaller  bankers  who  discount  second 
class  bills  of  exchange  refused  by  the  larger  banks,  at  an  enormous 
rate  of  interest,  far  above  the  legal  9  per  cent. 

The  volume  of  investment  securities  in  Syria  is  very  limited 
and  the  business  done  in  them  is  confined  chiefly  to  the  purchase  of 
such  paper  for  the  investment  of  savings.  The  mortgage  bonds  of 
the  Credit  Foncier  Egyptien  are  the  most  important,  paying  only 
3  per  cent  interest,  but  having  the  attractions  of  lottery  features. 
They  are  issued  in  denominations  of  250  francs.  Besides,  Turkish 
and  several  French  premium  bonds  are  bought.  Speculation  in 
securities  is  practically  non-existent. 

The  credit  system  is  carried  on  by  means  of  discounting  bills 
or  advances  made  on  current  account.  Usually  the  paper  runs  for 
no  more  than  3  months.  In  many  cases  the  discounted  bill  is  not 
really  commercial  but  rather  a  promissory  note,  the  signature  of 
the  drawer  serving  as  a  guarantee. 

As  in  Europe,  the  customer's  notes  of  the  borrower  are  as- 
signed to  the  bank  as  collateral  for  loans  on  current  accounts. 
Personal  guarantees,  and  also  pledges  and  mortgages,  are  some- 
times taken  as  security. 

The  volume  of  commercial  paper  in  Syria  is  estimated  at 
10,000,000  Itq.  per  annum.  This  shows  how  little  developed  the 
whole  banking  system  is. 

In  1010  the  Beirut  banks  under  the  leadership  of  the  Ottoman 
Bank  agreed  upon  the  following  rates  of  discount  for  notes: 
for  bankers  of  the  first  class, 
for  bankers  of  the  second  class. 
1%  for  business  men  of  the  first  class. 
7-8%  for  other  business  men. 

68 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

Collateral  loans  secured  by  merchandise  do  not  as  yet  play  an 
important  role.  The  number  of  staples  which  might  serve  as  col- 
lateral, such  as  grain,  wool,  and  sesame,  is  as  yet  limited.  As  there 
are  practically  no  modern  warehouses,  the  banks  are  forced  to 
maintain  storage  rooms  for  merchandise  on  which  money  is  loaned. 
It  is  more  frequent  that  money  is  loaned  on  shipments  for  foreign 
trade  than  on  merchandise  within  the  country.  Loans  on  real 
estate  do  not  exist  on  the  whole.  (The  activities  of  the  official 
Banque  Agricole  which  do  not  have  any  relation  to  actual  banking 
business  cannot  be  considered  in  this  connection.)  The  law  makes 
lending  on  mortgages  difficult  and  does  not  permit  the  mortgages 
to  be  recorded  in  the  name  of  the  bank. 

The  interest  paid  by  debtors  ranges  from  8  to  9  per  cent.  In 
many  cases  a  commission  is  charged  in  the  form  of  a  discount 
amounting  to  from  1  to  3  per  cent  per  annum. 

Current  accounts  and  deposits  are  growing  from  year  to  year, 
although  real  estate  is  still  the  favorite  investment  of  the  rich  man. 
The  bank  deposits  in  Syria  are  derived  rather  from  private  indi- 
viduals than  from  industrial  or  commercial  circles. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  estimate  the  size  of  the  assets  and  liabili- 
ties of  banking  operations  in  Syria,  as  all  the  large  firms  except 
the  Anglo-Palestine  Company  do  business  throughout  Turkey  and 
have  no  special  reports  concerning  Syria.  At  an  arbitrary  estimate 
the  total  of  the  assets  of  all  Syrian  banks  (excluding  private 
bankers)  before  the  war  amounted  to  46-49  million  francs,  the 
total  of  the  liabilities  to  23-35  million  francs,  an  insignificant 
showing  for  a  land  of  4  million  inhabitants.  Among  the  other 
activities  of  the  banks  is  trading  in  foreign  exchange.  Before  the 
war  the  exchange  in  pounds  sterling  and  francs  played  the  main 
role.  In  general  all  the  Syrian  banks  accept  the  foreign  exchange 
prices  of  Beirut.  In  Beirut  itself  it  is  the  Banque  Imperiale  Otto- 
mane  that  has  a  preponderant  influence  in  fixing  the  rate  of  ex- 
change. The  exchange  is  reckoned  in  Beirut  piastres  (1  Itq.  equals 
124  piastres  of  25  para  Beirut  standard).  By  far  the  greatest  part 
of  the  export  of  all  products  is  effected  by  documentary  draft  (with 
bill  of  lading  attached)  or  by  the  check  remittance  of  the  recipient. 

Apart  from  the  real  banks  and  bankers  Syria  has  so-called 
money  lenders  both  in  the  favorable  and  unfavorable  sense  of  the 
word.  In  the  favorable  sense  these  are  capitalists  who  want  to 
secure  safe  investments  at  a  good  rate  of  interest  by  lending  their 
money.  In  Palestine  there  are  religious  organizations  and  rich 
Jews  who  let  their  money  work  in  this  way.  Few  of  the  natives 

69 


Syria:        An         Economic         Survey 

engage  in  this  business.  On  the  other  hand  there  are  Arab  usurers 
in  the  villages  who  make  the  fellaheen  pay  them  enormous  rates 
of  interest,  up  to  75-100  per  cent. 

B.  Currency. — Before  1916  there  was  a  bewildering  diversity 
in  Syrian  currency,  as  the  gold  lira  introduced  in  1844  did  not 
permit  of  a  uniform  division,  being  worth  from  123  piastres  in 
Tripoli  to  255  piastres  in  Gaza.  The  banks  had  to  keep  book 
according  to  the  local  value  of  their  piastres.  Besides,  the  value 
of  the  silver  piastre  was  reckoned  only  on  the  basis  of  the  govern- 
ment piastre  (Piastre  Sagh).  Another  complication  arose  from 
the  fact  that  while  in  1844  a  fixed  relation  was  established  between 
gold  and  silver,  the  subsequent  depreciation  of  silver  caused  the 
government  to  introduce  free  coinage  of  silver.  The  silver  coins 
(Mejidieh)  did  not  constitute  a  legal  tender  and  consequently  they 
could  not  retain  their  original  relation  to  the  gold  lira.  This  re- 
sulted in  a  considerable  discount,  amounting  to  8  per  cent  in  1880. 
The  government  subsequently  recognized  the  mejidieh  as  legal 
currency,  but  fixed  its  value  at  19  piastres  instead  of  20  piastres. 
This  unpopularity  of  the  mejidieh  resulted  in  a  lack  of  change. 
Besides  the  mejidieh  and  the  half  and  quarter  mejidieh  of 
silver,  there  is  the  copper  bishlik,  used  especially  in  Beirut  and  in 
Palestine.  The  bishlik  is  worth  2^  government  piastres  and  is 
divided  into  ten  metalliks  of  ten  para  each.  Half  bishliks  and 
quarter  bishliks  exist  as  well,  also  silver  one  and  two  piastre  pieces, 
and  metalliks,  two  metalliks,  four  metalliks  and  half  metallika 
of  nickel. 

In  April,  1916,  the  government  fixed  the  lira  at  100  piastres 
and  the  mejidieh  at  20  piastres  of  40  para  each.  Silver  coins  must 
be  accepted  as  payment  up  to  the  amount  of  300  piastres;  other 
small  currency  up  to  50  piastres.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  war 
Turkey  had  no  paper  money  other  than  the  notes  of  the  Banque 
Imperiale  Ottomane,  but  now  the  government  has  issued  its  own 
paper  money  (50.5  Itq.,  1  Itq.,  V2  Itq.,  %  Itq.,  and  20.5,  2i/2,  2 
and  1  piastres). 

VII.     Insurance. 

The  insurance  business  is  mostly  in  the  hands  of  foreign  com- 
panies with  agencies  in  Syria.  There  is  one  Turkish  company, 
the  Societe  Generate  d' Assurance  of  Constantinople,  which  writes 
life,  fire  and  transportation  insurance.  In  Palestine  the  sums 
insured  by  life  insurance  companies  amount  to  about  15,000,000 
francs,  with  yearly  premiums  of  600,000  francs.  The  business  is 
remunerative,  as  the  mortality  is  very  low,  there  being  few  acci- 

70 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

dents  and  no  drunkenness.  Fire  insurance  is  also  profitable,  as 
there  are  rarely  any  fires,  the  houses  being  built  of  stone.  The 
Arabs  are  too  fatalistic  by  nature  and  religion  to  resort  to  insur- 
ance, particularly  life  insurance.  Most  of  the  business  is  done 
with  Europeans. 

The  insurance  of  live  stock  has  not  been  introduced  by  com- 
panies, but  has  been  attempted  in  the  Jewish  colonies  on  a  co- 
operative basis. 

Foreign  insurance  companies  are  subject  to  government  in- 
spection, in  accordance  with  a  law  passed  in  1914. 

VIII.     Commercial  Schools. 

The  commercial  schools  of  Syria  are  :  (1)  The  Commercial 
School  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  in  Beirut,  opened  in  1900, 
which  had  66  pupils  in  1913-1914;  (2)  Two  Jewish  commercial 
schools  in  Jerusalem  with  about  60  pupils  (one  supported  by 
American  Jews,  the  other  by  the  Hilfsverein  der  Deutschen 
Juden) ;  and  a  government  school  in  Beirut.  The  following  pro- 
gram has  been  used  by  the  commercial  schools  in  Jerusalem: 

Number  of  Eecitations  per  Week 

Subject               IV*  III  II  I 

Hebrew   9  7  6  6 

German     6  6  6  6 

Arabic  4  5  5  5 

English  3  3  3  3 

Turkish 3  2  2  2 

French    —  3  3  3 

History   2           {  2  2 

Geography    2           j  2  2 

Mathematics     5  2  3  3 

Zoology  and  Botany 2  2  2  I 

Physics    1  1  1  1 

Chemistry     1  1  1  1 

Physical  Training 2  2  2  2 

Drawing    2  2  2  2 

Singing     1  2  2  2 

Arts  and  Crafts 3  2  3  3 

Stenography   1 

Bookkeeping     —  2  3 

Typewriting   —  1 

Total 47  46  45  48 

*  Lowest. 

71 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 


Commercial  schools  are  urgently  needed  in  such  cities  as 
Aleppo,  Haifa,  and  Jaffa. 

IX.     Chambers  of  Commerce. 

According  to  an  ordinance  of  1885,  Chambers  of  Arts  and 
Trades  were  to  be  established  in  Constantinople  and  other  cities, 
but  they  never  materialized  in  Syria.  However,  there  are  Ottoman 
chambers  in  Syria  established  by  an  ordinance  of  1880,  of  which 
any  reputable  business  man  may  become  a  member  by  the  annual 
payment  of  a  small  sum.  The  chambers  have  other  sources  of 
income,  namely,  fees  for  the  issuance  of  certain  certificates  and 
for  the  attestation  of  certain  documents.  The  Chambers  of  Com- 
merce of  Aleppo,  Damascus,  Beirut,  and  Jerusalem,  exist  only  on 
paper.  The  last-named,  founded  in  1909,  for  a  time  published  a 
monthly  report  in  French.  The  membership  dues  of  the  Jerusa- 
lem chamber  are  50,  150  or  200  piastres  according  to  the  business 
of  the  member,  and  up  to  500  piastres  for  bankers. 

The  main  difficulty  in  establishing  Chambers  of  Commerce  in 
Syria  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  business  men  are  of  different  nation- 
alities, have  different  customs,  and  speak  different  languages.  This 
difficulty  will  have  to  be  overcome  gradually. 

X.     Measures  for  the  Promotion  of  Commerce. 

Neither  commercial  schools  nor  other  measures  will  serve  to 
develop  commerce  in  Syria  unless  the  Syrian  business  men  work 
in  closer  co-operation  and  have  greater  confidence  in  one  another. 
This  might  be  brought  about  by  the  establishment  of  exchanges  in 
commercial  centers. 

What  is  most  important  of  all  is  the  development  of  the  Syrian 
harbors,  Jaffa,  Haifa,  Tripoli  and  Alexandretta,  the  development 
of  roads  and  railways,  the  introduction  of  telephones,  etc. 


72 


PART  SEVEN. 
TRAFFIC  AND  TRANSPORTATION. 

I.     Harbors. 

The  only  good  harbor  on  the  Syrian  coast  is  that  of  Beirut, 
which  was  built  by  a  French  company.  The  gross  profits  amounted 
to  586,593  francs  in  1896  and  to  1,038,695  francs  in  1909.  Second 
class  harbors  with  regular  steamer  traffic  are :  Jaffa,  Tripoli,  Alex- 
andretta,  Haifa,  Latakia,  and  Sidon.  All  these  harbors  have  only 
open  roadsteads.  Frequently  winds  render  them  unapproachable. 
The  following  third  class  harbors  have  no  regular  steamer  traffic: 
Gaza,  Caesarea,  Acre,  Tyre,  Juni,  Jebull,  Tarsus,  Banias  and 
Suediah.  In  the  grain  season  steamers  call  at  Acre  and  Gaza. 
Unfortunately,  as  the  town  of  Gaza  is  about  4  kilometers  from  the 
shore  and  there  is  no  connecting  road,  loads  must  be  carried  through 
the  deep  sand  on  camels.  The  other  harbors  have  none  but  sail 
boat  traffic. 

As  the  sea  is  rather  shallow  along  the  Syrian  coast,  steamers 
are  forced  to  anchor  from  one-half  a  mile  to  a  mile  from  the  shore, 
except  in  Beirut.  In  all  the  harbors  the  ships  must  pay  dues  for 
health  and  light  house  service,  in  Beirut  for  use  of  the  harbor  as 
well.  Every  harbor  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  harbor  master 
and  a  customs  official. 

From  a  technical  standpoint  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any 
great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  building  the  harbors  of  Alexandretta, 
Haifa,  and  Jaffa.  The  building  of  the  harbor  of  Alexandretta, 
which  is  protected  from  winds  and  waves  by  nature,  was  begun  in 
1912  by  the  Bagdad  Railway,  but  interrupted  by  the  outbreak  of 
the  war. 

The  harbor  of  Jaffa  presents  greater  difficulties  than  the  other 
two,  for  as  it  is  quite  unprotected  it  will  be  necessary  to  build 
moles  quite  far  out  to  sea.  A  plan  has  been  broached  to  fill  in  the 
sea  109.3  yards  out,  as  far  as  the  famous  and  much  feared  reefs,  or 
perhaps  still  further  out,  in  order  to  gain  valuable  land  for  quays 
and  to  decrease  the  labor  of  dredging.  The  government  has  already 
had  the  harbor  surveyed.  The  cost  of  building  the  harbor  is  esti- 
mated at  15-20  million  francs.  According  to  a  report  of  the 
Austrian  Consul  in  Haifa,  made  in  1912,  the  building  of  the  harbor 

73 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

of  Haifa,  to  be  30-40  hectars  in  size,  would  also  come  to  15-20 
million  francs. 

Almost  all  the  merchandise  imported  and  exported  through 
Alexandretta  and  Haifa  is  or  will  be  transported  by  rail;  conse- 
quently any  increase  of  traffic  brought  about  by  the  building  of  the 
harbor  will  be  advantageous  to  the  railways.  But  this  is  not  the 
case  in  Jaffa.  It  happens  that  most  of  the  oranges,  wine,  and  soap 
exported  from  Jaffa  come  from  places  which  do  not  lie  on  the 
Jaffa-Jerusalem  Railway.  The  same  is  true  of  imports.  This  con- 
dition will  be  changed  after  the  completion  of  the  Lydda-Tulkerem 
and  Wadi-Serar-Beersheba  lines.  In  any  case  it  is  advisable  to  have 
the  harbor  built  by  railway  companies  which  are  materially  inter- 
ested in  its  success. 

II.     The  Road  System. 

The  building  and  maintenance  of  roads  in  Syria  has  been 
effected  either  by  concessions  to  private  companies  or  by  govern- 
ment undertakings.  The  Beirut-Damascus  road  and  the  Tripoli- 
Homs-Hama  road  were  built  in  the  former  way,  both  proving  very 
profitable  to  the  companies  which  undertook  them.  All  other  roads 
in  Syria  were  built  by  the  Turkish  government  which  laid  taxes 
in  kind,  amounting  to  about  600,000  Itq.  per  annum,  on  the  popula- 
tion. 10  per  cent  of  the  receipts  of  the  Banque  Agricole  (about 
35,000  Itq.  annually)  are  devoted  exclusively  to  road  building. 

The  system  of  taxes  levied  in  kind  was  not  successful,  and 
before  the  war  the  road  system  of  Syria  (with  the  exception  of  the 
Lebanon)  was  very  backward.  During  the  war  Djemal  Pasha  has 
accelerated  the  work  of  road  building  in  extraordinary  fashion. 
The  following  roads  have  been  built  since  1911 : 

Damascus-Kuneitrah    (37) ;   Rosh  Pinah    (22)  ;   Tiberias 

(17) ;  Semach  (6)    83  mi. 

Nazareth-Afuleh  (6) ;  Jenin  (9)  ;  Nablus  (22) 37    " 

Jericho-Es  Salt  (27) ;  Amman  (21) 47    " 

Hebron-Beersheba  (31)  ;  Hafir  (45) 76    " 

Latrun-Djulis-Gaza  (not  yet  completed) 62    " 

The  road  system  of  Syria  consists  of  the  two  main  thorough- 
fares running  from  north  to  south,  and  the  transverse  roads  which 
connect  them.  The  coastal  road  is  not  complete,  there  being  no 
connection  between  Haifa  and  Tyre,  and  Tripoli  and  Alexandretta. 
In  June,  1916,  the  most  important  roads  of  Syria  were: 

74 


8 


r  i  a 


An         Economic         Survey 


The  Coastal  Road. 

Gaza-Jaffa-Haifa    112  mi. 

Tyre-Sidon-Beirut-Tripoli 106    " 

The  Highway. 

Hafir-Beersheba  (45)  ;  Hebron  (31) ;  Jerusalem  (24) 99  " 

Jerusalem-Hablus-Nazareth    75  " 

Nazareth-Tiberias    (21);    Rosh    Pinah    (17);    Kuneitrah 

(22) ;  Damascus   (37)    97  " 

Damascus-Homs-Hama- Aleppo- Aintab     217  " 

The  Transverse  Roads. 

Gaza-Beersheba    27  " 

Jaffa-Jerusalem    40  " 

Jaffa-Tulkerem    (Nablus) 19  " 

Haifa-Nazareth    22  " 

Haifa-Tulkerem-Nablus    50  " 

Sidon-Merjayun-Safed    43  " 

Beirut-Damascus    78  lc 

Tripoli-Horns     58  " 

Alexandretta- Aleppo    98  " 

A  few  of  these  roads  extend  further  to  the  east,  namely : 

Jerusalem-Jericho-Es   Salt- Amman    73  mi. 

Aleppo-Meskeneh  (on  the  Euphrates) 62    " 

Aleppo-Bab-Biredjik  (on  the  Euphrates) 62    " 

It  is  important  that  several  roads,  for  instance  that  between 
Safed  and  Acre,  begun  in  May,  1916,  should  be  completed.  This 
will  serve  to  awaken  Safed  from  its  lethargy  and  connect  Acre  with 
the  Hinterland. 

III.     Railways. 
The  Syrian  Railway  System  consists  of  the  following  lines: 

Length 

Hejaz  Railway                                in  mi.  Gauge  Opened  in 

Damascus-Dera'a   (76);  Maan  (211). 287  105  1902-1904 

Haif a-Dera'a    100  105  1904-1905 

DeraVBosrah-Eski  Sham    24  105              1912 

Haifa-Beled-Acre    11  105               1913 

Afuleh-Jenin-Massudiyeh-Lydda     62  105  1913-1915 

Massudiyeh-Nablus 9  105              1915 

Wadi-Serar-Beersheba  (52)  ;  Hafir  (44) _96^  105  1915-1916 

589 

75 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

Length 

Bagdad  Railway                             in  mi.  Gauge  Opened  in 

Islahiyeh-Muslimiyeh-Aleppo     88  143.5  1912-1914 

Muslimiyeh-Jerabulus   (Euphrates)    .  .   58  143.5            1912 

Toprak  Kaleh-Alexandretta   37  143.5            1913 


183 

Companies  founded  with 

French  capital: 

1.  Societe  Ottomane  du  Chemin  de  Fer 
Damas-Hama  et  Prolongements. 
Beirut   ( Harbor  )-Rajak-Damascus    ...   92          105  1895 

Damascus-M'zerib    63          105  1895 

Eajak-Aleppo 206          143.5       1902-1906 

Tripoli-Horns 63          143.5  1911 


424 

2.  Societe  des  Tramways  libanais. 

Beirut-Mamilten    12          105  1898 

12 

3.  Societe  Ottomane  du  Chemin  de  Fer 

Jaffa-Jerusalem     54          100          1891-1892 

54 
Total 1,262 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  Turkish  Government  took 
over  the  French  railways.  The  rails  from  Jaffa  to  Lydda  on  the 
Jaffa- Jerusalem  Railway  were  torn  up  and  used  in  the  construction 
of  the  Jenin-Lydda,  Wadi-Serar-Beersheba-Hafir  lines.  Besides, 
the  gauge  from  Lydda  to  Jerusalem  was  changed  from  100  to  105 
cm.  The  Syrian  railway  system  is  poor  compared  with  that  of 
European  countries,  but  far  more  developed  than  that  of  any  other 
part  of  Asia  Minor. 

The  Jaffa- Jerusalem  Railway  was  opened  in  1892  and  proved 
so  unprofitable  at  first  that  it  had  to  be  shut  down  for  a  while. 
Since  then  the  traffic  has  increased  considerably.  The  gross  profits, 
51,949  francs  in  1895,  had  risen  to  1,388,755  francs  in  1911. 

76 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

When  the  two  Asia  Minor  tunnels  of  the  Bagdad  Railway  are 
completed,  which  should  be  in  1917  or  1918,  Aleppo  will  be  con- 
nected with  Constantinople,  that  is  to  say  there  will  be  direct  rail- 
way communication  between  Syria  and  Europe.  The  economic  value 
of  a  direct  connection  with  Africa  over  Port  Said  is  doubtful,  as  it 
would  take  longer  and  be  more  expensive  to  go  from  Aleppo  to 
Port  Said  by  rail  than  by  boat.  On  the  other  hand  it  would  be 
valuable  to  connect  the  Syrian  Railways  with  Akabah.  Another 
useful  line  would  be  from  Rajak  to  Afuleh  which  would  shorten 
the  trip  from  Aleppo  or  Beirut  to  Haifa  or  Jaffa  by  about  124 
miles,  Safed  and  Nazareth  could  easily  be  linked  up  with  this  line. 

IV.     Transportation. 

Transportation  overland  is  effected  by  means  of  railways  or 
animals ;  on  the  sea  by  means  of  steamboats  and  sailboats.  Sailboats 
are  not  much  used  except  for  fishing.  They  are  sometimes  used  in 
preference  to  steamboats  to  carry  loads  between  neighboring  har- 
bors, as  they  can  load  and  unload  on  the  shore,  whereas  the  steam- 
boats must  anchor  at  a  considerable  distance  from  land.  The 
sailboat  traffic  is  mostly  in  the  hands  of  natives,  the  steamboat 
traffic  almost  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  foreign  companies. 

A.     Shipping. 
1.     Steamship  companies. 

The  following  steamship  companies  entered  Syrian  ports  up 
to  the  time  of  the  war: 

(a)  Societe  des  Messageries  Maritimes  (Marseilles)  with 
a  weekly  service,  Marseilles-Alexandria-Port  Said-Jaffa-Beirut- 
Haifa  (Marseilles-Beirut  in  10  days)  and  a  bi-weekly  servifce 
Marseilles-Constantinople,  touching  at  Beirut,  Haifa,  Tripoli, 
Alexandretta,  and  Mersina. 

(b)  The  Oesterreichische  Lloyd  in  Trieste.    The  steam- 
ships of  this  company  make  the  trip  from  Trieste,  Alexandria 
and  Port  Said  to  Jaffa,  Haifa,   Sidon,  Beirut,  Tripoli  and 
Latakia,  taking  12  to  15  days  from  Trieste  to  Mersina. 

(c)  The  Russian  Steamship  Line  in  Odessa  with  a  weekly 
service  from  Odessa  via  Constantinople  and  Smyrna,  to  Mer- 
sina, Alexandretta,  Latakia,  Tripoli,  Beirut,  Haifa,  Jaffa  and 
Port  Said   (Odessa-Beirut,  8-9  days). 

(d)  The  two  Italian  companies,  Marittima  Italiana  and 
Servizi  Marittimi,  with  bi-weekly  boats  from  Venice  or  Genoa 

77 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

via  Rhodes  to  Beirut  and  via  Piraeus  to  Beirut.  The  regu- 
larity of  the  traffic  is  sometimes  interrupted  by  storms  and 
the  quarantines  made  necessary  by  cholera  epidemics  in 
Egypt.  Besides  the  above  mentioned  steamship  lines  there  are 
a  Roumanian,  a  Bulgarian,  and  German  lines  which  run  less 
frequently  and  two  English  lines  which  have  only  freight 
steamers. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  1910,  the  last  year  in  which 
shipping  was  normal,  Beirut  was  entered  by  1,143  steamships, 
Jaffa  by  707  steamships,  Tripoli  by  620,  Haifa  by  555,  Alexan- 
dretta  by  472,  Latakia  by  137  and  Sidon  by  109.  Of  these  steam- 
ships 22.3  per  cent  were  English,  20  per  cent  were  Russian,  12.4 
per  cent  were  Austrian,  10.5  per  cent  were  Turkish,  10.2  per  cent 
were  French,  etc.  The  number  of  sailboats  touching  at  the  seven 
large  harbors  in  1910  was  8,545. 

B.  Railways. 

The  Hejaz  Railway. — The  passenger  traffic  is  far  greater  in 
proportion  than  the  freight  traffic.  In  1912-1913  there  were  130,- 
563  travelers  from  Damascus  to  Medina.  The  Damascus-Dera'a- 
Haifa  line  has  greater  traffic,  but  no  figures  are  available.  In  1913 
the  Hejaz  Railway  owned  96  locomotives,  103  passenger  cars,  30 
baggage  cars,  1,028  freight  cars,  and  7  special  cars.  The  passenger 
trains  from  Haifa  to  Damascus  run  daily  (12  hours'  trip),  those 
from  Dera'a  to  Medina  3  times  a  week. 

The  Jaffa- Jerusalem  Railway.  —  The  number  of  passengers 
(pilgrims  and  tourists)  is  greatest  in  March  and  April.  The 
freight  traffic  is  considerable  from  Jaffa  to  Jerusalem,  but  slight 
in  the  opposite  direction.  In  1913  182,700  passengers  (I  and  II 
class)  travelled  on  the  line,  and  47,500  tons  of  freight  were 
transported. 

C.  Animal  Transportation. 

Camels  are  used  in  preference  to  other  animals.  Donkeys  and 
mules  are  used  for  short  distances,  wagons  only  for  military  pur- 
poses, in  the  Lebanon  and  in  the  Jewish,  German  and  Circassian 
colonies  of  Palestine.  The  rest  of  the  population  does  not  possess 
any  wagons  because  of  the  miserable  condition  of  the  roads  that 
prevailed  up  to  recent  years.  In  the  cities  there  are  carriages  and 
omnibuses.  Palestine  has  several  "Diligences"  (stages)  running 
between  Jaffa  and  Ramleh,  Jerusalem  and  Bethlehem,  etc.  Among 

78 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

the  Arabs  the  bedouin  and  effendis  use  horses,  the  fellaheen 
donkeys.  It  is  estimated  that  a  donkey  can  carry  110-220  Ibs. ;  a 
mule,  220-330  pounds,  and  a  camel  440-660  pounds.  Donkeys  and 
camels  cover  19-25  miles  in  an  8-10  hour  day,  mules  25-37  miles. 
It  is  estimated  that  no  less  than  180,000  loaded  camels  come  into 
Alexandretta  in  the  course  of  the  year. 

D.  Total  Freight  Receipts. 

At  an  approximate  estimate  the  total  freight  receipts  of  Syria 
accruing  from  the  transportation  of  goods,  etc.  (to  which  must  be 
added  the  receipts  from  sea-born  traffic  and  transfer),  amount  to 
45,000,000  francs. 

E.  Expressage  and  Warehouses. 

There  are  no  large  express  companies  in  Syria.  Expressage 
is  in  the  hands  of  business  men  in  the  ports,  who  neither  under- 
take to  transport  goods  direct  to  far  distant  points  nor  offer  suffi- 
cient safety.  The  dispatch  business  consists  mainly  in  transporting 
people  and  freight  from  the  steamships  to  the  shore  and  vice  versa, 
by  means  of  small  rowboats.  Storage  warehouses  are  quite  un- 
developed. It  is  only  in  Beirut  and  Haifa  that  there  are  steam 
cranes.  Beirut  possesses  the  only  modern  storage  warehouse.  The 
other  cities  have  nothing  but  primitive  sheds,  and  in  the  large  wheat 
centers  of  Hauran  the  grain  lies  outdoors  absolutely  unprotected. 

V.     Tourists. 

The  tourists  who  visit  Syria  may  be  classed  as  follows: 

(a)  Business  men  and  officials  on  government  business. 

(b)  Egyptians  who  spend  their  summers  in  the  Lebanon. 

(c)  Jewish  tourists  who  visit  Palestine. 

(d)  European  and  American  tourists  who  visit  Syria  and 
especially  Palestine,  in  the  course  of  a  trip  to  the  Orient. 

(e)  Christian  pilgrims  who  visit  Palestine. 

(f)  Mohammedan   pilgrims   who   travel   to   Medina   via 
Haifa  or  Damascus. 

The  first  three  classes  include  from  several  hundred  to  a 
thousand  people  each,  the  fourth  class  from  6,000  to  7,000  people. 
The  Christian  pilgrims,  estimated  according  to  the  number  of  pas- 
sengers on  the  Jaffa-Jerusalem  line,  number  about  20,000  annually, 
the  Mohammedan  pilgrims  travelling  on  the  Hejaz  Eailway  number 

79 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

about  15-25,000  annually.     The  total  receipts  accruing  to  Syria 
from  tourists  may  be  roughly  estimated  as  follows : 

Classes  (a),  (b)  and  (c) . . .  1,000,000  francs 

Class  (d)   3,000,000  " 

Class  (e)    2,000,000  " 

Class  (f )    4,000,000  " 


Total 10,000,000       " 

If  travelling  and  hotel  conditions  in  Palestine  were  better 
a  far  greater  number  of  tourists  would  undoubtedly  visit  the  holy 
places.  Good  roads  for  automobiles,  European  hotels  and  an  adver- 
tising campaign  in  Europe  and  America  would  bear  immediate 
fruit.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Lebanon,  which  is  an  ideal 
summer  resort.  There  are  already  several  agencies  in  Syria  (Ham- 
burg-American Line,  Thos.  Cook  and  Son,  Clark)  which  arrange 
tours  in  Palestine  and  the  rest  of  Syria.  When  Syria  becomes  easy 
of  access  and  offers  the  same  modern  comforts  to  tourists  as  Egypt 
it  will  be  possible  to  utilize  its  watering  places.  The  hot  sulphur 
springs  of  Tiberias,  famous  since  antiquity,  and  widely  used  by 
natives,  resemble  the  hot  springs  in  Aix-la-Chapelle.  The  water, 
which  has  a  temperature  of  143.6  degrees  F.,  is  rich  in  sulphur  and 
magnesia  chloride  and  has  radio-active  properties.  The  hot  springs 
of  Hamman-ez-Zerka  (the  Callirrhoe  of  the  Romans)  were  used  by 
Herod.  There  are  also  hot  sulphur  springs  in  the  Yarmuk  Valley. 
It  seems,  too,  that  the  enormous  basin  of  the  Dead  Sea  may  also 
be  used  for  medicinal  purposes.  The  lower  Jordan  Valley  would 
prove  an  ideal  winter  resort  for  consumptives  and  convalescents  in 
general. 


80 


PART  EIGHT. 
URBAN  AND  RURAL  LIFE. 

1.     The  Life  of  the  Fellaheen  and  Bedouin. 

For  food  the  fellah  depends  for  the  most  part  upon  the  prod- 
ucts of  his  farm.  His  main  food  is  bread,  made  of  wheat  (or 
of  durrha  or  barley  by  the  poorer  classes)  baked  in  thin  cakes. 
Wheat  is  also  consumed  in  the  form  of  burghul  (wheat  grits).  The 
well-to-do  always  serve  mutton  and  rice  on  festive  occasions.  The 
commoner  vegetables  are  tomatoes,  egg  plant,  lentils,  peas,  beans, 
etc.  Olive  oil  serves  as  a  fat  in  the  preparation  of  foods.  Coffee 
and  tobacco  are  used  extensively.  Entertaining  guests  is  an  im- 
portant feature  of  village  life,  as  well  as  celebrations,  such  as 
weddings,  circumcisions,  etc.  Despite  the  fact  that  polygamy  is 
allowed,  the  fellah  rarely  has  more  than  one  wife,  whom  he  pur- 
chases from  her  father  at  a  price  ranging  from  200-1,000  francs. 
In  other  respects,  too,  the  fellah  is  quite  primitive  in  his  customs. 
The  village  children  grow  up  without  instruction  of  any  kind  an3 
a  large  number  of  them  are  either  disfigured  or  crippled  by  avoid- 
able diseases,  such  as  small-pox,  trachoma,  etc.  The  fellah  rarely 
has  recourse  to  physicians  or  pharmacists.  It  is  interesting  to  note, 
however,  that  better  health  conditions  exist  in  the  Arab  villages 
near  the  Jewish  colonies,  where  a  physician  and  a  drug  store  are 
maintained  by  the  community. 

The  fellaheen  generally  live  in  houses  consisting  of  one  room 
without  flooring  or  chimney.  The  Bedouin,  on  the  other  hand,  live 
in  tents  and  roam  the  land  at  will.  When  they  come  into  the 
civilized  part  of  Syria  they  break  up  into  groups  of  10  to  50 
families.  Their  favorite  haunts  are  Transjordania,  the  Jordan 
Valley,  the  environs  of  Beersheba  and  the  eastern  parts  of  the 
Litani  and  Orontes  Valleys.  The  life  of  the  Bedouin  is  still  more 
primitive  than  that  of  the  fellaheen. 

II.     Life  in  the  Cities. 

A.  Architecture. — The  streets  of  the  Syrian  cities  are  narrow 
and  crooked,  although  there  are  modern  quarters  with  wide  streets 
in  such  towns  as  Beirut,  Damascus,  Jerusalem,  Jaffa,  etc.  In 
the  European  sections  the  streets  possess  narrow  sidewalks.  In 

6  81 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

Batrum,  in  the  Lebanon,  the  streets  are  paved  with  small,  round 
stones,  in  Tyre  with  small  cobble-stones,  etc.  In  the  last  few  years 
the  government  has  forced  each  municipal  administration  to  oc- 
cupy itself  with  the  laying  out  of  new  streets  and  the  widening 
of  existing  streets.  In  those  cases  where  houses  were  torn  down 
the  proprietors  were  indemnified. 

The  houses  built  by  natives  have  a  large  drawing  room  in  the 
center  with  numbers  of  doors  leading  into  smaller  rooms.  (In 
Damascus  there  are  beautiful  courts  with  fountains  and  trees.) 
The  rooms  are  furnished  with  rugs,  mats,  divans,  and  cushions; 
there  are  no  tables,  chairs  or  closets.  Bathrooms  are  practically 
unknown.  The  first  bathrooms  and  water  closets  were  introduced 
by  the  Jews  of  Tel- Aviv. 

B.  The  Price  of  Land  and  Rents. — The  price  of  city  lots  is 
highest  in  Beirut.  Then  come  Aleppo,  Damascus,  Jerusalem, 
Jaffa  and  Haifa.  Before  the  war  lots  were  sold  at  the  following 
cost  per  pic  (1  pic  equals  0.5625  sq.  meters)  : 

Best  Location  in  Near  the  Edge 

Center  of  Traffic  of  the  City 

Beirut   200  10 

Aleppo    50  5 

Damascus   50  5 

Jerusalem   30  2 

Jaffa   30  2 

Haifa    30  2 

Tripoli    20  2 

Horns    15  2 

Hama    10  2 

Gaza    5  1 

The  cost  of  building  a  one-story  house  containing  four  large 

and  three  small  rooms,  with  a  foundation  of  62  square  miles,  is 
approximately  as  follows: 

Building  Material  Francs 

Damascus    framework  filled  in  with  sun-dried  brick  8,000 

Jerusalem  natural  stone  (hard)  20,000 

Jaffa "         "     (soft)  14,000 

Haifa "          "     (hard)  18,000 

Houses  bring  3  to  4  per  cent  in  Horns,  Nablus,  Gaza,  etc., 
8  to  10  per  cent  in  the  ports,  and  as  much  as  10  to  12  per  cent 
in  those  ports  with  the  greatest  immigration. 

82 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

C.  Water-Works  and  Canalization.  —  Beirut  and  Damascus 
are  well  supplied  with  drinking  water  by  means  of  aqueducts. 
There  are  a  few  small  aqueducts  elsewhere,  for  instance  in  Acre 
and  in  the  Jewish  suburb  of  Tel- Aviv,  near  Jaffa.     There  is  no 
doubt  that  in  the  near  future  good  drinking  water  will  be  brought 
to  the  other  large  cities  by  means  of  modern  aqueducts.     So  far 
they  use  river  water.    In  Jerusalem  rain  water  is  stored  in  cisterns. 
A  small  aqueduct  from  the  old  Pools  of   Siloam  supplies  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Temple.     For  decades  there  has  been  a  plan 
afoot  to  bring  water  to  Jerusalem  from  the  wells  of  Ain-Farah  or 
Ain-Arub  but  it  has  not  yet  been  carried  into  effect,  despite  the 
fact  that  in  summer  water  brought  from  a  distance  is  sold  for  as 
much  as  10  to  15  centimes  for  a  can  of  5  gallons.     It  would  be 
expedient  to   instal   sewerage   at   the   same   time   as   waterworks. 

D.  Tramways. — There   are  electric  tramways  in  Damascus 
and  Beirut,  and  horse-cars  in  Tripoli.    Both  electric  tramway  lines 
belong  to  French  companies.     There  is  a  project  of  introducing 
electric  tramways  in  Aleppo,  Jerusalem  and  Jaffa.     A  Constanti- 
nople firm  attempted  to  obtain  a  concession  for  an  electric  plant 
(lighting  and  tramways)    in  Jerusalem  after  the  beginning  of 
the  war,  but  no  definite  arrangement  was  made.     In  Jerusalem 
the  motive  force  will  have  to  be  supplied  by  means  of  coal  or 
petroleum.    The  water  power  of  the  Aujeh  can  be  utilized  for  Jaffa, 
from  where  the  tramway  service  should  be  extended  to  Ramleh, 
Lydda,  and  the  neighboring  colonies. 

E.  Intellectual  and  Social  Life. — Intellectually  the  cities  are 
undeveloped.    The  most  important  institutions  of  learning  are :  the 
Mohammedan  theological  faculty  in  Damascus,  the  medical  faculty 
(formerly  in  Damascus,  now  in  Beirut),  the  American  Syrian 
Protestant  College  and  the  French  University  of  St.  Joseph  in 
Beirut.  In  Jerusalem  there  are  the  German  and  American  archaeo- 
logical institutes  and  the  Jewish  Arts  and  Crafts  School  Bezalel, 
which  has   had   several   notable  artists   among  its   teachers,   for 
instance,  S.  Hirschenberg,  E.  M.  Lilien,  Eichard  Goldberg,  etc. 
In  Tel-Aviv  there  is  a  Jewish  music  school. 

The  school  system  has  improved  during  the  last  years.  Al- 
most every  city  has  a  secondary  boys'  school.  In  Beirut  there  is 
a  teachers'  seminary.  There  is  little  provision  made  for  the  edu- 
cation of  girls,  excepting  among  the  Jews;  the  secondary  schools 
in  Jerusalem  and  Jaffa  are  co-educational. 

Arabic  newspapers  are  published  in  Damascus,  Beirut,  Jeru- 

83 


Syria:        An         Economic         Survey 

salem  and  Haifa.  Besides  there  are  several  Turkish  official  news- 
papers, a  French  paper  in  Beirut  and  a  Hebrew  daily  in  Jerusalem. 
Several  Hebrew  periodicals  are  published  in  Jaffa  and  Jerusalem. 

Most  of  the  physicians  of  Syria  are  graduates  of  European 
universities,  although  some  of  them  studied  in  Constantinople  or 
Beirut.  The  higher  officials  are  graduates  of  the  law  faculty  of 
Constantinople. 


PART   NINE. 

THE  ECONOMIC  FUTURE  OF  SYRIA. 

Syria  suffers  in  comparison  with  other  Mediterranean  coun- 
tries in  lacking  metals  and  coal,  in  possessing  a  large  percentage  of 
mountains  and  arid  land,  and  in  being  isolated  by  high  mountains 
to  the  north  and  by  steppes  and  desert  to  the  east  and  south.  How- 
ever, it  also  has  advantages,  the  principal  ones  being: 

(1.)  Its  long  coast  line  (435  mi.) ; 

(2.)  The  intelligence  of  the  urban  population,  especially  in 
the  coastal  zone,  and  the  robustness  of  the  rural  population; 

(3.)  The  plentiful  water  supply  in  the  coastal  zone  and  -in  the 
longitudinal  valleys; 

(4.)  The  unusual  fertility  of  certain  grain  growing  districts, 
especially  Hauran; 

(5.)  The  interest  of  all  humanity  in  the  "holy  places"  in 
Palestine.  If  these  advantages  are  properly  utilized  the  following 
results  may  be  achieved  in  the  near  future: 

(1.)  The  whole  coastal  zone  (and  the  river  valley)  may  become 
a  garden  of  tropical  fruits  and  vegetables.  All  that  is  necessary 
is  a  proper  system  of  irrigation  and  the  establishment  of  ware- 
houses and  transportation  facilities.  Excellent  markets  for  Syrian 
oranges,  lemons,  grapes,  figs,  pomegranates,  apricots,  melons,  toma- 
toes, artichokes,  etc.,  could  be  found  in  Egypt  and  all  the  Mediter- 
ranean ports. 

(2.)  The  mountain  district  can  be  devoted  to  olive  and  pis- 
tachio trees,  etc. 

(3.)  The  plateaus  may  be  utilized  for  grain  cultivation. 

(4.)  Finer  grades  of  tobacco  may  be  grown  in  Syria. 

(5.)  Agricultural  industries  such  as  the  manufacturing  of 
cane  and  beet  sugar  and  the  preserving  and  desiccating  fruits  can 
become  an  important  activity,  as  well  as  the  production  of  alcohol 
from  durrha,  figs,  carobs,  etc. 

(6.)  The  chief  factor  in  promoting  industry  will  be  a  new 
tariff.  Raw  products  which  were  exported  to  other  countries  and 
then  re-imported  in  a  finished  state  must  be  treated  in  Syria  itself. 

85 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

Spinning  and  weaving  of  wool  and  cotton  as  well  as  tanning  come 
under  this  head. 

(7.)  The  absence  of  coal  makes  it  imperative  to  utilize  to  the 
utmost  the  motive  force  of  the  rivers.  The  falls  of  the  Yarmuk 
and  the  Jabbok,  the  rapid  flow  of  the  Jordan  and  the  Aivjeh,  etc., 
can  be  used  to  provide  electricity  for  the  working  of  pumps,  rail- 
ways, etc.  It  seems  that  the  Hejaz  Railway  Co.  has  worked  out  a 
scheme  for  utilizing  the  falls  of  the  Yarmuk  to  run  the  Dera'a- 
Damascus,  the  Dera'a-Afuleh-Jerusalem,  etc.,  lines,  to  provide 
lighting  plants  for  a  number  of  cities,  etc. 

(8.)  If  hotels  and  railways  are  improved  tourists  can  be 
brought  into  the  county  in  great  numbers  and  become  a  consider- 
able source  of  income  for  Syria  and  especially  for  Palestine. 


86 


APPENDIX. 

PROJECTS  FOR  THE  PROMOTION  OF  SYRIAN  AGRICULTURE. 

Up  to  now  the  government  has  erred  in  not  seeking  the  co- 
operation of  Syrian  farmers  in  its  projects,  not  of  the  poor  fellah, 
but  rather  of  the  rich  landed  proprietor,  and  especially  of  the  Euro- 
pean colonists  in  Palestine.  We  believe  that  all  efforts  to  promote 
agriculture  should  be  made  by  a  single  agency,  similar  to  the 
Societe  Khediviale  d' Agriculture  in  Cairo.  A  Syrian  agricultural 
society  might  engage  in  the  following  activities: 

(1.)  To  destroy  locusts  and  insects,  and  combat  diseases  in- 
jurious to  crops; 

(2.)  To  make  artificial  fertilizers,  seeds,  etc.,  accessible  to  the 
farmer ; 

(3.)   To  maintain  model  farms; 

(4.)  To  experiment  with,  and  introduce,  new  forms  of  agri- 
culture and  new  agricultural  industries.  Under  this  heading  the 
following  branches  of  agriculture  and  agricultural  industry  may  be 
mentioned : 

(a)  Cotton  in  central  and  southern  Syria  (and  the  pro- 
duction of  cottonseed  oil) ; 

(b)  Sugar  beets  and  sugar  cane; 

(c)  Carob  trees  (the  carob  is  used  in  England  for  the 
production  of  alcohol)  ; 

(d)  Bananas; 

(e)  Castor  oil  bushes; 

(f)  Fruit  and  vegetable  preserving; 

(g)  Oil  production. 

A  society  of  this  kind  should  publish  a  periodical  containing 
instructions  and  suggestions  for  the  Syrian  farmer.  So  far  there 
is  only  one  agricultural  monthly,  the  Hebrew  Hahaklai  published 
in  Jaffa.  Besides,  it  should  hold  agricultural  expositions  from 
time  to  time  to  promote  competition. 

The  promotion  of  animal  husbandry  can  be  brought  about  by 
improving  the  quality  of  the  breeds  and  by  combating  the  frequent 
epidemics.  In  order  to  prevent  the  spread  and  fatal  consequences 

87 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

of  animal  epidemics  proper  precautions  should  be  taken  to  inocu- 
late the  animals.  This  would  call  for  the  preparation  of  sera. 
An  institution  for  this  purpose  could  easily  be  founded  by  Jews  in 
connection  with  the  Pasteur  Institute  in  Jerusalem,  and  develop 
into  a  veterinary  college.  An  increase  in  cattle  raising  would  be 
of  great  benefit  to  the  soil. 

There  are  certain  districts  in  Syria  at  present  partially  or 
wholly  unfit  for  agriculture,  which  could  be  rendered  cultivable  by 
the  following  measures: 

(a)  Drainage; 

(1.)  The  swamps  and  marshy  districts  along  the  coast; 
(2.)  The  swampy  districts  near  streams  and  lakes. 

(b)  Afforestation  of  the  sand  dunes  between  the  Egyptian 
frontier  and  Caesarea,  the  arid  district  near  Beersheba  and  the 
mountain  slopes; 

(c)  Irrigation  (of  the  Jordan  Valley  between  Beisan  and  the 
Dead  Sea  and  other  districts  in  the  neighborhood  of  streams). 

It  is,  of  course,  expedient  to  begin  by  undertaking  those 
ameliorations  which  seem  most  urgent  and  promise  to  be  most 
profitable.  The  work  may  be  undertaken  either  by  the  government 
or  by  private  societies  acting  in  co-operation  with  the  government. 
In  the  latter  case  the  government  is  not  forced  to  utilize  state 
funds  nor  does  it  run  any  risk  in  case  of  failure. 

There  ought  to  be  up-to-date  warehouses  throughout  Syria, 
both  in  the  ports  and  in  the  centers  of  production.  Not  only  would 
the  farmer  be  able  to  store  his  grain  instead  of  being  forced  to  sell 
it  immediately,  but  the  fact  that  grain  of  a  certain  quality  coming 
from  various  quarters  is  stored  together  would  force  the  farmer 
to  keep  his  products  up  to  the  standard. 

But  if  the  grain  grower  finds  it  advantageous  to  store  his 
wares  and  sell  them  when  the  demand  is  greatest,  the  fruit  planter 
is  anxious  to  dispose  of  his  crops  as  soon  as  possible.  In  former 
years  the  fruits  grown  on  the  coastal  plain  were  shipped  either 
to  Egypt  or  to  European  ports,  but  now  the  Hejaz  Railway  makes 
it  possible  to  transport  the  fruits  to  Damascus,  Horns,  Hama, 
Aleppo,  etc.;  in  the  future,  when  the  Bagdad  Railway  is  com- 
pleted, they  will  find  an  important  market  in  Asia  Minor. 

Nevertheless,  as  a  large  proportion  of  the  fruit  crops  will  be 
Bent  to  foreign  markets,  it  will  be  necessary  to  erect  a  number  of 
cold-storage  warehouses  in  the  ports  and  to  establish  steamship 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

lines  connecting  the  Syrian  ports  direct  with  Trieste,  Marseilles, 
Liverpool,  London,  etc.  With  proper  storage  facilities  even  the 
most  perishable  fruits  and  vegetables,  for  instance,  apricots  and 
grapes,  can  be  transported  to  Europe  without  risk.  These  improve- 
ments will,  of  necessity,  be  brought  about  gradually.  It  might  be 
well  for  the  government  to  subsidize  the  steamship  lines. 

Agrarian  Credit. — According  to  a  law  of  1916,  the  Banque 
Agricole  is  no  longer  limited  to  a  maximum  of  150  Itq.  on  mort- 
gage credits,  and  moreover  it  is  now  empowered  to  grant  loans 
secured  either  by  grain  or  by  the  entire  property.  Thus  the  bank 
can  really  become  a  central  institution  for  the  granting  of  agrarian 
credit  in  every  form.  The  Banque  Agricole  will  fulfill  its  task  only 
when  it  wholly  and  adequately  satisfies  the  demand  for  loans.  It 
should  facilitate  the  advance  on  grain  by  erecting  warehouses  and 
issuing  warrants  in  the  American  manner.  It  should  promote  the 
establishment  of  all  sorts  of  agrarian  associations  and  educate  the 
farmer  as  to  the  value  of  forming  associations. 

As  long  as  it  is  not  certain  whether  or  not  the  Banque  Agri- 
cole  can  raise  the  necessary  capital  to  fulfill  the  duties  imposed 
upon  it  by  the  new  law  it  would  not  seem  advisable  that  it  should 
have  a  monopoly  on  granting  agrarian  mortgages,  thus  excluding 
private  concerns  from  this  activity.  And  yet  this  is  what  the 
provisional  law  of  1912  has  done,  for  in  accordance  with  it  private 
concerns  cannot  grant  mortgage  credit  in  villages.  If  this  measure 
was  taken  in  the  fear  that  the  competition  of  the  mortgage  banks 
would  be  prejudicial  to  the  Banque  Agricole  it  was  superfluous,  for 
as  the  latter  charges  only  6  per  cent,  interest  it  is  in  no  danger  of 
meeting  serious  competition.  There  is  another  reason  why  private 
mortgage  banks  should  not  be  excluded  from  the  agrarian  credit 
system,  namely,  because  such  banks  could  co-operate  with  tfre 
Banque  Agricole  in  the  important  task  of  dividing  the  large  Syrian 
estates  into  small  holdings  and  creating  a  class  of  free  farmers  in 
the  place  of  the  tenants  of  the  present  time.  This  could  be  done 
by  giving  the  fellah  the  opportunity  of  buying  the  land  which 
he  now  labors  on  as  a  tenant,  by  granting  him  a  long-term  credit 
to  be  repaid  year  by  year  for  a  period  of  10-30  years,  this  credit  to 
be  guaranteed  by  a  mortgage  on  the  newly  acquired  land. 

The  osher,  which  amounts  to  12.63  per  cent,  cannot  be  con- 
sidered an  advisable  method  of  taxation.  Moreover  it  is  unjust 
because  it  is  taken  on  the  gross  profits  without  regard  to  differences 
in  the  cost  of  production.  The  osher  is  an  impediment  to  every 
improvement  in  which  money  must  be  invested,  for  the  proprietor 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

knows  beforehand  that  he  will  not  derive  the  full  benefit  of  the 
increased  interest  on  his  money  due  to  the  improvement,  but  only 
%  of  the  increase. 

The  manner  in  which  the  tax  is  collected  is  still  more  harm- 
ful than  its  form.  The  osher  farmer  who  rents  the  osher  tax  of 
an  entire  village  from  the  government  at  a  fixed  rental  is  fre- 
quently an  unscrupulous  person  who  manages  to  squeeze  more  than 
the  legal  12.63  per  cent  out  of  the  farmer.  Several  reforms  of  the 
osher  and  wergho  have  been  carried  through  and  others  projected. 
In  Egypt  the  osher  has  gradually  been  replaced  by  a  fixed  land 
tax. 

It  is  very  important  that  the  new  land  registry  law  of  1913 
be  carried  into  effect  in  Syria, 

Certain  of  the  rules  which  prevent  the  property  owner  from 
disposing  of  his  land  are  no  longer  practicable: 

(a)  As  the  owner  cannot  bequeathe  his  land  to  his  heirs  he 
disposes  of  it  in  his  lifetime  either  by  actual  or  by  simulated 


(b)  The  law  stating  that  land  lying  uncultivated  for  a  period 
of  three  years  reverts  to  the  state  is  too  indefinite; 

(c)  The  law  restricting  the  acquisition  of  land  by  private 
companies  had  two  motives,  first  to  prevent  foreign  companies  from 
owning  land,  and  second,  to  prevent  the  absorption  of  small  hold- 
ings by  large  capitalistic  enterprises.     Neither  of  these  motives 
is  sufficiently  important  to  deprive  Turkey  of  the  financial  and 
other  advantages  which  would  accrue  from  the  introduction  of 
various  enterprises.     Besides,  the  farmer  could  be  protected  by  a 
law  fixing  a  minimum  of  land  possession  for  the  individual  farmer ; 

(d)  The  fact  that  every  real  estate  transaction  must  be  rati- 
fied by  the  commission  charged  with  the  recording  of  such  matters 
gives  the  official  practically  unlimited  power,  as  the  law  does  not 
state  for  what  reasons  permission  is  to  be  granted  or  withheld. 
This  restriction  should  be  completely  abolished  except  in  the  case 
of  foreign  companies. 


90 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

General. 

Lortet:  La  Syrie  d'Aujourd'hui.     Paris,  1884. 

Vital  Cuinet:  Syrie,  Liban  et  Palestine.     Paris,  1886. 

Verney  et  Dambmann :  Les  Puissances  Etrangeres  dans  le  Levant, 

en  Syrie,  et  en  Palestine.    Paris,  1900. 
Ernest  Weakley:  Report  upon  the  Conditions  and  Prospects  of 

British  Trade  in  Syria.     London,  1911. 

Husbandry. 

Herbert  Auhagen:  Beitraege  zur  Kenntnis  der  Landesnatur  und 

der  Landwirtschaft  Syriens.     Berlin,  1907. 
Wady  Medawar:  La  Syrie  agricole.     Paris,  1903. 

Industry. 
Gaston  Ducousso:  L'industrie  de  la  Soie  en  Syrie.     Paris,  1913. 

Railways. 
M.  Hecker :  Die  Eisenbahnen  der  asiatischen  Tuerkei.    Archiv  fur 

Eisenbahnwesen,  1914.     Pp.  744,  1058,  1284,  1539.     Berlin, 

1914. 

Hermann  Schmidt:  Das  Eisenbahnwesen  in  der  asiatischen  Tuer- 
kei.   Berlin,  1914. 
Alexis  Rey:  Statistique  des  Principaux  Resultats  de  ^Exploitation 

des  Chemins  der  Fer  de  FEmpire  Ottoman  pendant  FExercise 

1911.    Constantinople,  1913. 
Max  Blanckenhorn :  Die  Hedschasbahn.     Zeitschrift  der  Gesell- 

schaft  fuer  Erdkunde  zu  Berlin,  1907,  nos.  4  and  5. 
Max  Schlagintweit :  Verkehrswege  und  Verkehrsprojekte  in  Vor- 

derasien.    Berlin,  1906. 
Eduard   Mygind:    Syrien   und   die   tuerkische   Mekkapilgerbahn. 

Halle,  1906. 
E.  Pech :  Manuel  des  Societes  anonymes  fonctionnantes  en  Turquie, 

5th  Edition.     Constantinople,  1911. 
Ernest  Weakley:  Report  upon  the  Conditions  and  Prospects  of 

British  Trade  in  Syria.    London,  1911. 
Programme  du  Ministere  des  Travaux  publics.     Constantinople, 

1909. 

91 


Syria:         An         Economic         Survey 

General  References. 

E.  Pech:  Manuel  des  Socie'tes  Anonymes  Fonctionnantes  en  Tur- 

quie,  5th  Edition.    Constantinople,  1911. 
Morawetz :  Die  Tuerkei  im  Spiegel  ihrer  Finanzen.    Vienna,  1903. 

F.  van  den  Steen  de  Jehay:  De  la  Situation  Legale  des  Sujets 

Ottomans  non  Musulmans.    Brussels,  1906. 

Padel  and  Steeg:  De  la  Legislation  Fonciere  Ottomane.  Paris, 
1904. 

Young:  Corps  de  droit  Ottoman.     7  volumes.     Oxford,  1905-06. 

A.  Bilioti — Ahmed  Sedad:  La  Legislation  Ottomane  depuis  le 
Retablissement  de  la  Constitution.  Paris,  1912. 

Baedecker:  Palestine  and  Syria.     Leipzig,  1912. 

Resume  de  la  Statistique  Agricole  de  la  Turquie  d'Asie  et  d'Afrique 
pour  1'Annee  1325.  Constantinople,  1912. 

Resume  de  la  Statistique  des  Mines  de  PEmpire  Ottoman  pour 
1323.  Constantinople,  1912. 

Statistique  des  Forets  de  TEmpire  Ottoman  pour  1323.  Constanti- 
nople, 1911. 

Bulletin  Annuel  de  Statistique  pour  1327.    Constantinople,  1914. 

Consular  Reports. 

German  (of  the  Consuls  in  Jaffa,  Jerusalem,  Haifa,  Beirut,  Damas- 
cus, Tripoli,  Aleppo),  published  in  the  German  Archives  of 
Commerce  and  in  separate  volumes. 

Austrian  (of  the  Consuls  in  Jerusalem  and  Jaffa,  Haifa,  Beirut, 
Damascus,  Tripoli,  Aleppo),  published  in  separate  volumes. 

English  (Jerusalem  and  Jaffa,  Beirut  and  Haifa,  Tripoli,  Damas- 
cus, Aleppo),  published  in  separate  volumes. 

American  (Jerusalem,  Beirut,  Aleppo),  in  Daily  Consular  and 
Trade  Reports,  Washington. 

Periodicals. 

Deutsches  Handelsarchiv.    Berlin. 

Deutsche  Levant-Zeitung.    Hamburg. 

Handelsmuseum.    Vienna. 

Oesterreichische  Monatsschrift  fuer  den  Orient.    Vienna. 

The  Near  East.    London. 

Levant  Trade  Review.    Constantinople. 

Daily  Consular  and  Trade  Reports.    Washington. 


92 


INDEX 

Page. 

Part  One:    The  Land  and  Its  Inhabitants 3 

Area,  Surface  Configuration,  Temperature,  Rain, 
Dew,  Winds,  Lakes  and  Streams,  Health  Conditions, 
Administrative  Divisions,  Population,  Religion,  Lan- 
guage, Cultural  Status  of  the  Population,  Fluctuation 
of  the  Population. 

Part  Two:    The  Economic  Structure  of  Syria  and  the  Value  of  its 

Products    11 

Part  Three:     Husbandry 13 

I. — A  Statistical  Summary  of  the  Products  of  Husbandry. 
A. — The  Area  on  Which  Husbandry  is  Practised. 
B. — Composition  of  the  Soil. 

C. — Dangers  and  Obstacles  to  Husbandry. 
1. — Natural  dangers. 
2. — Legal  obstacles  to  husbandry. 

D. — Kind,  Quality,  and  Value  of  Produce 
1. — Annual  food  and  fodder  crops. 
2. — Commercial  crops. 
3. — Fruit  trees. 
4.— Wild  fruits. 
5. — Animal  husbandry. 
6. — Poultry  raising  and  apiculture. 
7. — Agricultural  by-industries. 

II.— Unit  Farming:    Scope,  Method  and  Returns. 
A. — Forms  of  Land  Possession. 
B.— Methods. 

1. — The  season  program  of  farm  work;   crop 

rotations. 

2. — Agricultural  implements. 
3. — Draft  and  breeding  animals. 
4. — Land  improvement  and  fertility. 
6. — Irrigation. 

C. — European  Influences  in  Syrian  Agriculture. 

1. — The  German  agricultural  colonies  of  Pales- 
tine. 

2. — The  Jewish  agricultural  colonies  of  Pales- 
tine. 

3. — The  Muhadji  settlements. 

4. — The  influence  of  monks  and  missionaries. 

1 


INDEX.— Continued. 


Page. 

D. — Crop  Yields  and  the  Price  of  Land. 
1. — Grain  yields. 
2. — Plantation  yields. 
3. — The  price  of  land. 

III.— Agricultural    Credits:      The    Activities    of    the    Banque 
Agricole. 

IV. — Taxation,  Land  Registry,  Ownership  and  Inheritance. 
A. — Taxation. 
B. — Land  Registry. 
C. — Property  Ownership  and  Inheritance. 

V. — Agricultural  Training  and  the  Introduction  of  Improve- 
ments. 

VI. — Measures  for  the  Promotion  of  Agriculture. 

Part  Four:     Other  Branches  of  Primary  Production 43 

I. — Forestry. 
II. — Fishery  and  Game. 
III.— Mining. 

Part  Five:    Industry 46 

I. — Type  and  Scope  of  Syrian  Industries. 
II. — The  Main  Branches  of  Industry. 

A. — Textile  Industries  and  Dyeing. 

B.— Oil. 

C. — Soap. 

D— Milling. 

E. — Wine  and  Other  Alcoholic  Beverages. 

F. — Building. 

G. — Arts  and  Crafts. 

H.— Other  Industries. 

I. — Trades. 

III. — Abortive  Attempts  to  Introduce  Industries. 
IV. — Industrial  Training. 
V. — Trade  Taxes. 
VI. — Measures  for  the  Promotion  of  Industry. 

Part  Six:     Commerce 55 

I. — The  Extent  of  Commercial  Activities  in  Syria. 
II. — Foreign  Trade. 

A. — Ways  and  Usages. 
B. — Import  and  Export  Statistics, 
ii 


INDEX.— Continued. 


Page. 
C.-*The  Main  Branches  of  Foreign  Trade. 

1. — Victuals  and  Delicacies. 

2. — Alcohol  and  Beverages. 

3. — Coal  and  Petroleum. 

4. — Various  Commodities. 

5.— Building  Materials. 

6. — Metal,  Metal  Ware,  and  Machines. 

7. — Woven  Goods,  Fezes,  and  Ready-made 
Clothes. 

8.— Chemicals,  Drugs,  Dyes. 

9. — Oranges  and  Lemons. 
10.— Olive  Oil  and  Soap. 
11. — Cocoons,  Silk  Yarns,  and  Oriental  Woven 

Goods. 
12.— Wine. 

13. — Wheat,  Barley,  Legumes,  and  Sesame. 
14.— Wild  Plants. 
15.— Cattle,  Butter,  Wool,  Hides,  and  Eggs. 

III. — Inland  Trade. 
IV.— Bedouin  Trade. 

V. — Trade  Monopolies. 
A.— Salt. 
B. — Tobacco. 
C. — Tombeki. 

VI. — Banks  and  Currency. 
A. — Banks. 
B. — Currency. 

VII. — Insurance. 
VIII. — Commercial  Schools. 
IX. — Chambers  of  Commerce. 
X. — Measures  for  the  Promotion  of  Commerce. 

Part  Seven :     Traffic  and  Transportation 73 

I.— Harbors. 
II. — The  Road  System. 
III.— Railways. 
IV. — Transportation. 

A. — Shipping. 

B. — Railways. 

C. — Animal  Transportation. 

D. — Total  Freight  Receipts. 

E. — Expressage  and  Warehouses. 

iii 


INDEX.— Continued. 


Page. 
V. — Tourists. 

Part  Eight:     Urban  and  Rural  Life 81 

I. — The  Life  of  the  Fellaheen  and  Bedouin. 
II.— Life  in  the  Cities. 

A. — Architecture. 

B. — The  Price  of  Land  and  Rents. 

C. — Waterworks  and  Canalization. 

D. — Tramways. 

E. — Intellectual  and  Social  Life. 

Part  Nine:     The  Economic  Future  of  Syria 85 

Appendix:  Projects  for  the  Promotion  of  Syrian  Agriculture 87 

Bibliography. 


BROOKLYN    EAGLE    PRESS 


ill 


